Guest Speaker

This activity is meant to make the most of the visit of an English speaker to the classroom and to go beyond the “Ask our visitor some questions” approach. The timeline activity gives focus to the visit and helps students direct their questions appropriately.

When to Use It

• To coincide with a guest speaker’s visit • To practice asking questions • To flesh out a timeline

Preparation

Before the guest speaker’s visit: • Announce the guest speaker’s visit in advance. Give students some information about him/her and ask groups to think of five questions they would like to ask him/her in order to compile a timeline. Have them focus on his/her job, hobbies, and travel experiences rather than on personal questions, such as marital status, etc. • Encourage self-/peer-correction as you move about the classroom in case there is any mistake on question formation.

Level

Skills

Practice

Materials

Procedure

During the visit: 1. Tell students that they will need to take notes as they listen to the speaker. 2. Have group speakers take turns asking questions to the speaker. 3. Time the activity so as to keep the pace going. 4. Record the interview if possible.

After the visit: • As homework, students compile a timeline. Here is a sample of my students’ production: Create timelines online link: http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/timeline/ • In class, students read their timelines and compare them in groups. They might double-check information, add details, change dates, etc. Encourage discussion as you walk around the classroom. Every group appoints a secretary who will be in charge of compiling the final draft. • Secretaries submit the final versions on the following class or by email. • Put up the final production on the bulletin board for everyone to share their work.

Timeline description

Preparation Time

15 minutes

Activity Time

10–15 minutes in class 20 minutes to write the timeline

Variations

1. Turn the visit into an opportunity to have students write narratives or interviews rather than a timeline. 2. As you listen to your students engage in conversation with the guest speaker, jot down their mistakes or phrases that need some kind of editing or fine-tuning. After the guest speaker’s visit, write them on the board for students to identify the errors. 3. Choose one excerpt from the recorded interview that may have proved to be challenging for your students and prepare a cloze activity or true/false statements. 4. If your guest speaker is well-traveled, use a world map to take students on an imaginary trip by locating all the cities and places that are mentioned during the interview. 5. Ask students to make oral presentations expanding on any topic that was addressed during the interview. 6. Choose one particular item from the interview and ask students to think of further questions for a second visit (if possible). 7. Prepare a trivia question on one of the many exotic places brought up during the interview.