ORAL SKILLS IN SECONDARY
Montse Gato A Portfolio Oral Warmer Activities for Secondary
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INDEX ACTIVITY …...........................PAGE *Battle ships............................3-4 *Blackout
…...........................5-7
*Crazy Story............................8 *Find someone who has.................9-11 *Funny Holidays.........................12-13 *Headmaster game......................14 *The World's funniest Joke...........15-18 *Vacation Cards........................19-20 *What's different?....................21 *BIG BROTHER!
…....................22-25
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ORAL ACTIVITY Name of activity
Battle Ships Practice and vocabulary revision
Aim of activity Age / level of learners
Begginers to intermediate
Source
iteslj.orj/games
Teaching aids / materials Procedure
1.Divide the class into groups (4-5 students) 2.The students make the name for their ships for example with the names of animals, cities,movie stars or let them find their own favourite names. 3.The students choose the captain and the shooter.The captain's duty is to memorize his ship's name, so he can reply if somebody call his ship's name. The shooter's duty is to memorize the names of the ships of 'their enemies', so he can shoot them by calling their ship's name. 4.Arrange all the captains in a circle, the ships' crews must line
up behind their captains. The shooter is the last crew member in line. 5.The teacher must decide a lexical area of vocabulary, this vocabulary will be used to defend their ships from the attacks. Every students (except the shooters) must find their own words. The lexical area for example, "Four Legged Animals". Give the students 1-2 minutes to find as many possible words as they can and memorize them.
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6. Start the game by calling a ship's name, for example the ship name is "THE CALIFORNIAN". The captain of THE CALIFOR NIAN must reply with a word from the lexical area given, for example he says "TIGER" followed by his crews behind him one by one, "COW"; "SHEEP" until it is the shooter turns and he calls out the name of another ship and the captain of the ship called must reply and his crews must do the same thing. No word can be repeated. 7. If the captain is late to reply (more than 2 seconds) or his crew can not say the words or a word repeated or the shooter shoots the wrong ship (his own ship or the ship that has already been sunk) the ship is sunk, and the crew members can join thecrew of another ship. 8.
Comment
In the last round there will be two big groups battling to be the winner.
- The teacher can change the lexical area for the next round.
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ORAL ACTIVITY Name of activity BLACKOUT (A role-play) Aim of activity Age / level of learners
Fluency. Focus on expressions used to talk about being afraid Intermediate onestopenglish.com
Source Teaching aids / materials Procedure
Role cards copies (1 copy for each pair of students) Two mobile phones
1.Write the word Blackout on tne blackboard and let them guess its meaning or explain it. 2.Give a real example of this situation:In the summer of 2003, the state of New York and parts of Canada had one of the biggest blackouts in history. On August 14 the electricity went out and stayed out for almost 15 hours. 3.Ask the students to brainstorm what they think happened to people during the blackout. Ideas:- People were trapped in elevators and subways. - Restaurants had to throw away lots of food because the refrigerators didn’t work. - Nobody could get money from the banks because the bank machines and the computers didn’t work. .. 4.Set up the situation. It is 4 in the afternoon in New York on August 14 ...(You may change the location and time)
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5.Each pair of students will be given a role card with a situation and some language on it. They have five minutes to prepare their roleplay. The role-play must last at least one minute and they must incorporate the expression on their role cards (for this part they have to decide who says the expression!). They mustn’t tell anyone else what their expressions are.
6.Pairs perform their mini role-play in front of the class. To help the students “get into role” give them each a (turned off) mobile phone to speak into.
7. The rest of the class has to pay attention and try to “spot” the expressions that were on the card .After each role-play, see if the class can find the expression.
8.After all the role-plays are finished, do a quick review of the new language that came out. You can follow this role-play up with some questions: -What would you do if you were in this situation? -Has anyone been in a similar situation? What is your advice on what to do during a blackout?
Comment
For more or less advanced learners, vary the preparation time and presentation time. For lower students give them more language to get them started, for example the first two lines of dialogue (this requires a little more preparation
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on your part). Very creative classes could make up their own situations for role-play.
BLACKOUT! ROLE CARDS: BLACKOUT! BLACKOUT! A: You are in an elevator which is stuck
A: You are a criminal. You see a
chance of making some money by between two floors. There is no light. You robbing a bank during the blackout. You are visiting a friend in the building. You call want to convince a friend to help you. your friend. B: You are a criminal. Your friend calls B: You are waiting for a visit from your friendyou to ask for help, but you are scared when the lights went out. that the lights will come on. You don’t want the police to catch you. Expression: I’m REALLY afraid of the dark. Expression: I’m terrified we’ll get caught.
BLACKOUT!
BLACKOUT!
A: You are on the metro when the blackout A: You are a student. You were finishing happens. There is a pregnant woman in the train with you and you think she is going to have her baby. You phone the emergency services for help. B: You work at the emergency services. Give A advice on what to do with a pregnant woman.
your homework on the computer when the blackout occurred. You have to phone your teacher and explain that you can’t do the homework now. B: You are the teacher. You won’t accept A’s excuse because the homework is already two weeks late!
Expression: I’m freaking out here!
Expression: I was frightened of losing it, so I did it on the computer
BLACKOUT!
BLACKOUT! A: You are a seventy-year-old man.
A: You are the President of the United States. You are very grumpy. You are waiting You want an explanation of what is happening. for your daughter to come and make You are worried you your dinner. that this is a terrorist attack.
B: You are the daughter. You can’t come to
B: You are the Head of the FBI. You were your father’s house now because you have fishing when the blackout happened and have no information.
Expression: Frankly, I’m quite anxious about all this.
no gas for your car and the gas stations don’t work. Explain how he can make his own dinner. Expression: I’m so scared!
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ORAL ACTIVITY Name of activity Crazy Story To review verbs or any vocabulary and create stories Aim of activity Age / level of learners
Any level
Source
iteslj.org/games
Teaching aids / materials
Pieces of paper
Procedure
1.Ask students to write a word on a piece of paper and tell them not to show anyone. This word should be a verb (or whatever you'd like to rewiew).
2.The teacher starts telling a story, then stops and chooses a student. 3.That student will continue the story and must use his/her word. This student then chooses the next student to continue the story. The last student must end the story.
4.After the story is over, the students then try to guess what words
each student has written on his/her paper. The student who guesses the most words wins the game.
Comment
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ORAL ACTIVITY Name of activity Find someone Who Has.... Aim of activity Age / level of learners
To practice Short answers for Present Perfect: Yes, I have / No I haven't 2nd -3rd Of ESO www.english-area.com
Source Teaching aids / materials
Photocopy with question list on it. A pencil
Procedure
1.Give the students the photocopy with the list of questions on it. 2.Students have to complete the questions,by writing the appropiate participles on it,but without giving the answers. 3.Students stand up and move around making questions to their classmates,until finding at least one person who has done each thing on the list. 4.Students have to write his/her name and ask some more questions to that student. 5.Finally, the student has to report to the classs the information that he/she has got from his/her classmates.
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Comment
Show your students how to do it by performing an example. There are many other possible grammar aims by playing this game.This is an example. Questions List: Have you ever... (ride) a horse? (fly) in a helicopter? (be) to Africa? (play) chess? (go) bowling? (eat) Mexican food? (be) on a big ship? (play) baseball? (meet) some German person? (watch) a film in English? (read) a book in a foreign language? (find) any money in the street? (make) a meal for more than 6 people? (ask) a famous person for an autograph? (live) in a very big house? (spend) a whole night watching TV? (buy) clothes which you have never worn? (have) a dog?
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(win) a prize? (write) a poem? (drive) a lorry? (forget) your father ﾌ《 or your mother ﾌ《 birthday? (lose) your keys? (sing) in front of people? (sleep) for more than 10 hours? -Model answer: Short answers: Yes, I have. / No, I haven ﾌ》. -Extra questions: -Have you ever ridden a horse? Yes, I have. When was it? / did you like it? / was it difficult?/ etc. -Reporting Information: Nobody has ever ridden a horse.
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ORAL ACTIVITY Name of activity Funny Holidays Aim of activity Age / level of learners
1st day activity. To break the ice,getting to know each other. Intermediate (3rd-4th ESO) Onestopenglish.com
Source Teaching aids / materials Procedure
Photocopy with cards/ Make photocopies A set of cards for each group (12 students on it ) 1.Students take a card in turns. 2.If it says truth then they must tell a true story about a past holiday. 3.If they choose a card with a destination or holiday already on it, they must talk about an imaginary holiday they took there. 4.The group must guess which is true and which is false.
Comment
Encourage the students to make it as fanciful and detailed as possible.
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You went on Tell the a cruise in the TRUTH Caribbean Tell the
You went hiking in the mountains
TRUTH
You went on You went to a London for canoe trip in an intensive Canada English course
Tell the
Tell the
TRUTH
TRUTH
You watched You went to Tv all day. Australia to You didn't visit family. go out once.
You went to New York City You won a holiday in Hollywood and Los Angeles
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ORAL ACTIVITY Name of activity Headmaster game Practice on Reporting actions Aim of activity Age / level of learners
Intermediate to upper
Source
iteslj.org/games
Teaching aids / materials
Paper for each student and students'dictionaries
Procedure
1.Write on the board:
You are the new headmaster of this school. You have two years to make this the perfect school. You can have as much money as you want, but you must spend it all in 2 years.
2. .
What changes would you make immediately? 9. What changes must be gradual? 10. What would you do to make it a better school? 11. What changes would you make?
3.Give the students 15 minutes to work alone. 4. Then put them in groups of 3-5 with a leader to organize their thoughts Each group's leader will give its "report" to the other students during the following class period.
5.If your students have a small vocabulary you can help them out by listing on the blackboard areas of discussion: teachers, buildings, classrooms, activities, dorms, lunchrooms,curriculum, sports, playground, library, bathrooms,schedules,music, art,etc.
Comment
Be specific. For example, don't say hire better teachers. You must say how you would find better teachers or what kind of teachers you would hire. Also, remember you must think like a headmaster, not like a student! Making school easy and letting the students do no exams or homework will not make parents happy!
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ORAL ACTIVITY Name of activity The world's funniest joke Aim of activity Age / level of learners
Oral Fluency. Use of Present Simple Pausin ang Rhythm when telling jokes Intermediate + Onestopenglish.com
Source Teaching aids / materials
Handouts ( one each per group of 3-4 students): -What makes you laugh? -THE WORLD’S FUNNIEST JOKE
Procedure
1. Tell the students to relax to make easier to
remember
anything. Ask them to visualise the following: Think back to the last time you really laughed. Why were you laughing? What happened that made you laugh? Where were you? Who was there? Were you the only one laughing?
2.Warmer Repeat this once and ask them to get a fixed image of that time in their minds. When they are ready, they should turn to the person next to them and tell them about the last time they laughed.
3.Questionnaire Now tell the class that they are going to do a speaking activity to find out when each other laugh. Divide the class into groups of three or four.
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Assign one person in each group the role of “researcher”. Tell them that their job is to find out about laughter habits of the others in the group. Give them the first handout (What makes you laugh?). Let this part go on quite a bit if they need it, it is the main focus of the speaking activity. When they have finished, ask the researchers to report back on what they had discovered.
4.World’s Funniest Joke Ask how many students laugh at jokes (it’s the last question on the questionnaire).
Write the following words on the board: " Two hunters / in the woods/ one collapses / doesn'seem to be breathing/ eyes glazed/ other calls emergency/ gasps "My friend is dead! What can I do?"/ operator calm, soothing replies: "Take it easy/ I help / make sure dead."/ silence, then a shot / hunter says, "Ok, now what?" Ask students to try to make out what the joke is in pairs (they should try to tell it to each other from the cues). Give them a couple of minutes for this, then announce that you are going to tell them the World’s Funniest Joke. Read out the joke as dramatically as possible. When you are done, give them each a copy of you are done, give them each a copy of the joke. Did they understand it? Ask them if they think it is funny.
5.Tell a joke Tell them now that they are going to practise telling the World’s Funniest Joke in English. They can practise by reading it off the page first, but should try to memorise it. Have students practise in groups. Give some of the following tips: -Pause dramatically at parts of the joke (e.g. after “his eyes are glazed”, “what can I do?”, “make sure he’s dead” “there is a silence”. -Put the correct emphasis on the sentences: students should mark the stressed words in each sentence and The United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland).
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practise getting the rhythm right. -Make sure you deliver the punch line correctly! Pronunciation problems in the punch line can ruin even the World’s Funniest Joke. So make sure that you can pronounce it all well. When students have practised, ask them who they think was the best person in the class to tell the joke. As a follow-up you could get students to prepare/translate a joke they know in their own language and tell it in English.
Optional Grammar Point
Comment
You might want to draw your students’ attention to the grammar used in the joke. Tell them that in English, the Present Simple is used when recounting a narrative (especially of the joke genre). The reason for doing this is to bring the listener into the story more, to make them feel as if they are living it. When students prepare their own jokes, they should use Present simple. What makes you laugh? You are a researcher doing an investigation about laughter. Interview two or three people and be prepared to make a summary of what you find out. Here are some questions to help you. Ask more questions to find out more. Be prepared to report back what you find out.
How often do you laugh? all the time/a lot/often/rarely/hardly ever Do you laugh when you get embarrassed? Do you laugh when you don’t know what to say? Do you laugh when you don’t think it’s funny but someone wants you to laugh? Do you laugh when you feel nervous? Do you laugh if someone is clumsy? Do you laugh when other people are laughing? The United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland).
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Do you laugh when someone tickles you? Do you laugh when someone is being silly? Do you laugh when someone makes fun of a third person? Do you laugh a lot when you are tired? Do you laugh at jokes? --------------------------------THE WORLD’S FUNNIEST JOKE "Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn'seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other man pulls out his phone and calls emergency services. He gasps to the operator: "My friend is dead! What can I do?" The operator in a calm, soothing voice replies: "Take it easy. I can help. First, let's make sure he' dead." There is a silence, then a shot is heard. Back on the phone, the hunter says, "Ok, now what?"
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ORAL ACTIVITY Name of activity Vacation cards To present the theme and vocabulary of the unit to study Aim of activity Age / level of learners
Intermediate to upper level
Source
iteslj.org/games
A deck of cards, blackboard Teaching aids / materials Procedure
1.Imagine
a theme that could be crafted into some sort of story. For example, "send the teacher on a vacation". On the board make a list like the following. (You could ask your student for imput.)
.
Aexciting
12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23.
2depressing 3expensive 4heroic 5romantic 6fantastic 7sad 8almost fatal 9cheap 10dramatic Jhappy Qwierd Kchange one option
2.Offer a beginning to the story so the students may start. 3.They then must continue making an oral story by drawing one
card and continuing the story along those lines. For example, if they get 4, then the teacher/protagonist must do something heroic or some kind of heroric event must occur.
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4.If the students draw a K (or whatever card you stipulate), then
they can change one option. This seems to help keep the momentum in the game. 5.Continue through all cards, with the stipulation that the story must be concluded by the end of the deck. Obviously there is a lot of room for variation.
Comment
It is most interesting if you personalize it and insert yourself or a student (assuming he/she wouldn't mind).
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ORAL ACTIVITY Name of activity What is different?? Revise tense verbs (present simple or present perfect) Aim of activity Age / level of learners
Low-intermediate Iteslj.org/games
Source Teaching aids / materials
None
Procedure
1.Ask a volunteer to go out of the classroom. 2.While the student is out of the room, the other students change their sweaters, shoes, coats and so on, among themselves.
3.Bring the student who went out of the classroom back inside. 4.He/she has to guess the differences using the verb tense that you've decided.
Comment
You can set the students in pairs so they turn round and in two minutes they change or move their belongings or clothes. Then face to face, they reveal to their partner the differences he/she can see.
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ORAL ACTIVITY Name of teacher
MONTSE
Title for activity
BIG BROTHER
Age / level of learners
14-15 YEARS OLD 3º ESO
Teaching aids / materials
The aim of the activity is: To practise expressions of opinion, agreement and disagreement and adjectives of character orally.
The teacher needs: 24. One copy of the rules/Procedure. 25. One copy of the Big Brother contestants descriptions.
Procedure
1.Students should be divided into groups of no more than 8 members (if the grou is bigger the teacher should prepare additional descriptions of contestants). Each group will represent the housemates of Big Brother. 2.Each student must choose a number between 1-8. That number will determine which contestant he ́ll be according to the table below. 3.Then each student is given a copy of the next page and finds out who he/she ́s going to be. Everyboby introduces himself to the group. 4.Students must decide who they ́re going to nominate according to the information provided in the table and any other details they may make up. Once they ́ve taken a decision they ĺ l have to nominate one of their housemates face to face, giving their reasons and saying at least something positive about the nominee too. Nominees have the right to defend themselves.
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5.Once all the contestants have nominated someone, the votes are counted and the two most voted contestants try to persuade the audience not to vote to evict them.
Don’t forget to
Point out that this practice is a means to promote the using of the language, and not to make nominations on their mates.
Other info. or variations Comment BIG BROTHER CONTESTANTS 1.Jane 24 years old single unemployed Easy-going, friendly and fun, but very lazy.
2. Tom 35 years old married mechanic
Excellent cook. Cheerful and clever, obsessed with order. She loves sleeping and snores. Very athlectic. He ś got smelly feet. 3. Sandra 28 years old
4. John 40 years old
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surgeon Intelligent and sensible. A bit pessimistic. She sometimes does the housework. She always tries to flirt with the men in the
Introverted and sensitive. He can talk about his job for hours. He always helps with the housework.
house. He snores.
5. Mary 52 years old
6. James 22 years old
married single tourist guide student Generous and kind. Very noisy sometimes. She can ́t cook or clean properly.
Easy-going, talkative and sporty. He thinks it ś not neccesary to have a shower
She often tells dirty jokes. every day. He can cook and eats a lot. 7. Brenda
8. David
20 years old
25 years old
single
married
student
computer engineer
Clever and sensitive.
Very self-confident and talkative.
She misses her dog Toby and usually talks
He ́s often late for everything. A bit untidy.
about it.
He usually tells funny anecdotes.
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She can spend hours combing her hair,
He loves chocolate and sweet things.
putting make up on and trying on clothes.
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