3.1.

1 Teaching Language
Skills

Teaching Language Systems & Approaches

There are a variety of teaching methods that EFL teachers incorporate into
their lessons to effectively present material, guide students in practice, and
stage real-life, communicative usage of the new language.

During presentation, the goal is for students to understand

the meaning and construction of words, phrases, and grammar structures.
Teachers may choose to use the inductive or deductive approach to present
new language items.

During practice, students are training for accuracy.

During production, students are using the new language communicatively and
developing fluency.

We will examine each of these steps in detail, providing plenty of examples

along the way - all of which can be used directly in class.

Present, Practice, Produce - PPP

PPP is a simple, straightforward lesson structure that is generally
recommended for most teachers. It has been proven to be effective in class
and can be easily implemented by new teachers.
In the Presentation stage, the teacher introduces and explains the target
language to students.

In the Practice stage, students use the target language in carefully

designed, controlled exercises.

In the Production stage, students use the language more freely,

incorporating their own ideas into the exercises.

In recent years, there has been some debate about the PPP method. Critics
question whether using the PPP method in the classroom is too structured,
stifling true interaction. The PPP method is a flexible system, however, in
which exercises can be structured as freely and with as much interactivity as
the teacher deems appropriate.

The purpose of this course is to provide you with the practical tools you need
to run an effective EFL classroom. We will not go into the details of the debate
and alternative teaching methods. Those are best considered once a teacher
has at least a few years of experience in the classroom.

3.1.3 Teaching Approaches

- Deductive & Inductive

Deductive and Inductive Approaches

When introducing new language items to students (i.e., presenting), teachers
may choose to use either the deductive or the inductive approach.

A teacher using the deductive approach provides explanations of, for

example, grammar rules, which students will use to construct sentences and
phrases using the new language.

The inductive approach works in the opposite fashion. A teacher begins by

showing her students examples from actual texts, listening exercises, or other
material. As students work through their activities, they are repeatedly
exposed to the structure they are being taught. Ideally, they start to
understand the rules behind the examples without requiring any explanation.

The deductive approach can be more effective with lower-level students and
those who are more accustomed to traditional learning styles. The inductive
approach tends to suit upper-level students, especially when
introducing complex grammar structures. The inductive approach also
tends to increase student participation and the use of target language in
class.

Deductive Approach Example

One picture shows a man fixing a bike; the other shows a girl brushing her
hair (these can be substituted for other action pictures).

1. When teaching the present continuous tense, students are shown

pictures of different situations.
2. Using the first picture, the teacher provides a model sentence: “He is
fixing the bike.”
3. The teacher breaks down the sentence, specifically isolating the -ing at
the end of the word fix, highlighting the construction of the present
continuous.
4. Students repeat the words and sentence in a drill before continuing.
5. Moving on to the next picture, students are given the verb “brush” and
asked to construct a sentence in the present continuous tense using the
same model.
6. Students continue completing sentences based on other pictures.

The deductive approach is also known, in simpler terms, as the "explain and
practice" approach.

An Example of the Inductive Approach

1. Write the following sentences on the board:

o Mike has lived in New York for ten years.

o Mary has been living in England since 1995.
o Fiona has been a vegetarian for one year now.
 o Keith has been eating steak since he was a little boy.

2. Pass out the following fill-in-the-blanks exercise:

Fill in the blanks with either for or since

o David has been learning English ______ three years.

o Bob has been married ______ a long time.
o Sue has been playing tennis ______ 1999.
o My mom has been playing the piano ______ she was a little girl.

3. Once the exercise has been completed, ask students when they should use
"for" and when they should use "since."

The inductive approach is especially successful with students who already

have the ability to identify individual grammar concepts. This approach
encourages participation, maintains motivation, and keeps classes interesting.
It is important to consider, however, that some students respond better to the
traditional - deductive - style of teaching, and that a base level of experience
with English is required to understand the inductive method. It is up to
teachers to judge whether students are at a high enough level to incorporate
the inductive approach.
3.1.5 Explaining Meaning

Students have different learning styles which fall into four main classifications:
visual, auditory, tactile and kinesthetic. When explaining the meaning of new
words, it is best to combine a few elements to ensure comprehension.
Nouns

The simplest way to demonstrate the meaning of nouns is by using visuals

and realia if possible. Realia refers to actual items that students can see, feel,
and touch. Bringing a sea shell or a can-opener to class would be an example
of using realia. It’s not easy to bring a great white shark into class, though, so
teachers often resort to:

 Photos and flashcards

 Maps and images
 Whiteboard drawings
 Video clips

A great example that demonstrates how useful the board can be is

teaching time:
Draw a clock to represent the current time and demonstrate how to say the
current time in English. Then, erase the hands of the clock and redraw them in
different positions while demonstrating how to say different times. For
example;
  "It is ten past twelve."
 "It is noon."
 "It is a quarter to four."
 "It is half past three."
 "It is 5:30"

Afterwards, the teacher can draw more times on the clock, calling on students
to say the time to check comprehension

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Verbs

The meaning of action verbs such as "run," "cook," and "sit down" can be
effectively demonstrated using exaggerated body gestures. These can be
combined with flashcards for more difficult verbs - for example, "contemplate."
The teacher can hold a flashcard which shows someone pursing their lips with
their hand on their chin, a thought bubble overhead, and gazing out at the
stars. Using the whiteboard to support the presentation will always come in
handy by means of drawings, written-out words, or displaying visuals.

A series of specific questions can be used to reinforce the meaning

of auxiliary verbs such as would, could, will, should, etc.
For example, to explain the use of "should," provide a picture of a boy who
has spilled milk on the floor and make a statement such as, "The boy should
clean up the milk."

Then ask the class a series of questions, such as:

1. "Is it okay if the boy leaves the milk on the floor?" (No)
2. "Should the boy clean up the milk?" (Yes)
3. "Does the boy have to clean the floor?" (No)
4. "Do you think it is a good idea if he cleans the milk off the floor?" (Yes)
5. "Are we certain the boy will clean up the milk?" (No)
6. "Should his mother clean the milk?" (No)

These types of queries reinforce the nuances of "should."

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Adjectives

Visual comparisons are a great way to demonstrate the meanings of

adjectives.

Adjectives related to emotions can be taught using an image like the one
below:
By comparing multiple emotions, students contrast them with each other,
gaining a deeper comprehension of the meanings of the adjectives being
learned.

This works with other adjective sets just as well, such as "cold," "cool,"
"warm," "hot," "soft," "smooth," "rough," "coarse," etc.

Comparatives and superlatives are taught using a similar idea. Teachers can
use images, whiteboard drawings as well as miming.

This image of three snowmen can be used to demonstrate:

  short
 shorter
 shortest
 tall
 taller
 tallest

"The red snowman is the tallest."

"The blue snowman is taller than the green snowman, but shorter than the red
snowman."

"The green snowman is the shortest."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Other Tips for Teaching Meaning

One strategy that assists understanding is providing the antonyms and

synonyms of the target word, such as:

 Antonym: "Disgusting is the opposite of attractive, alluring, and

appealing"
 Synonym: "Disgusting is similar to revolting, ghastly, horrible, and
repulsive"

Provide examples of the word in context such as:

 "It is disgusting if you don’t take a shower for two weeks."

 "I thought it was disgusting when I found a long black hair in my food at
the restaurant."

Grouping words into lists helps students organize and compartmentalize

vocabulary, greatly aiding quick recall of meaning.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Comprehension Check Questions

Comprehension check questions (CCQs) should be used to confirm student

understanding. The questions need to specifically target meaning and elicit
short answers from the students. A series of questions may be required to
ensure the meanings of vague terms are clear.

1. Ask closed-ended CCQs that are easy to answer

2. Ask closed-ended CCQs using the target word
3. Ask 'short-answer' CCQs that clarify understanding

Example #1:

Managed - having succeeded in doing something despite external factors

(coped).
Even with all the noise outside, he managed to fall asleep.

CCQs

1. "Did he try to fall asleep?" (Yes)

2. "Was it easy for him to fall asleep?" (No)
3. "Did he succeed at falling asleep?" (Yes)
4. "Did you manage to complete all your homework during the weekend?"
(Yes)
5. "How did you manage to finish your homework?" (I turned off my phone
and set aside one hour on Saturday morning.)

Example #2:
Dresser - a chest of drawers

I asked my little brother to take a t-shirt from my dresser.

CCQs

1. (show pictures) "Is this a dresser?" (Yes)

2. (ask a student) "Do you have a dresser?" (Yes) 'Is your dresser made
out of wood?' (Yes or no)
3. "Do you put food or clothes in your dresser?" (Clothes)
4. "Which room of the house would a dresser be in?" (Bedroom)
5. (ask a student) "How many drawers do you have in your dresser?"
(Four)
3.1.7 Explaining
Construction

Language construction includes:

 sentence construction (syntax)

 word construction
 grammar
 sentence stress & intonation

Teachers use a combination of strategies to demonstrate language

construction. Some of the material in this section will be quite technical and
teachers may opt not to present it to students. Alternately, teachers may
choose to touch on these concepts at higher levels. Regardless, all EFL
teachers should understand the various components of sentence and
language construction.

Sentence Construction

Syntax is at the heart of forming correct sentences. The following concepts

will help students understand syntax and develop correct sentences:

1. simple sentences
2. compound sentences
3. complex sentences and relative (adjective) clauses
4. dependent and independent clauses
5. noun clauses
6. adverbial clauses
7. finite and non-finite clauses
Simple sentences

Simple sentences consist of a subject and a verb

Subject (person/thing)

Verb (action)

1) Give examples of both subjects and verbs:

Subjects (person/place/thing)

 “Mike talks.”
 “The store stays open late.”
 “Italy is a nice country.”

Verbs (action)

 “Mike talks.”
 “The store stays open late.”
 “Italy is a nice country.”

2) Using these simple sentences as a base, have students come up with five
other subjects and five other verbs, and list them on the board:
Subjects: Verbs:
Chris walk
School is/are
Books Eat
Africa look
Teacher like

3) Use the lists to form simple sentences on the board

“Chris walks down the street.”

“School is hard.”

“Books are interesting.”

“Africa looks big on a map.”

“Teachers like to grade tests.”

4) Ask comprehension check questions:

Teacher: “Can we use Africa with eats?” (No)

Teacher: “How about books with like?” (No)

Teacher: “How many of the verbs in our list can we use with Chris?” (All
except for "are")
Teacher: “Which two subjects can we use with eat?” (Chris & teacher)

Compound & Complex Sentences

Longer sentence structures include:

i. Compound Sentences – Two simple sentences joined together by

conjunction words (coordinators): and, or, but, for, nor, yet, so

ii. Complex Sentences – a sentence which uses a subordinate clause(s)

(subordinators): because, since, after, although, when, while, as far as,
etc.

iii. Relative Clauses – a part of a Complex sentence that is used to

identify or define the noun preceding them starting with: that (things),
which (things), who (people), where (places), when (time)

When presenting the construction of longer sentences, write them out on the
board or print out sentences and cut them into sections that can be hung
with tape or magnets. Sections should be broken down into the following:
Complete Subjects – the simple subject and any article or adjective
describing it

 “The boy…”
 “An orange sign…”
 “A loud, little dog…”

Complete Predicate – the full action; the verb + object + complement and
any articles/pronouns that complete the action

 “…lives on my street…”
 “…pointed to the pizza shop...”
 “…barked all night...”

Compound Conjunction (Coordinate) Words

 and
 but
 or
 for
 yet
 so
Complex Connector (Subordinate) Words – Break these down on the
board into how they are related to the sentence.

Relative Pronouns – List these on the board and explain when each is used.

 that (thing) – “This is the house that I grew up in

 which (thing) – “The house which I was born in is next to the river.”

 who/whose/whom (person) – “We sold our house to the

people who had a family.”

 where (place) – “I moved into the city, where I found a nice apartment.”

Then, use the different components to create sentences on the board.

Use different colored markers to label the different components of the
completed sentences as in the following examples:

o Compound Sentences:

o Complex Sentences:
o Relative (Adjective) Clauses:
Once presentation of compound/complex sentences and relative clauses is
complete, provide fill-in-the-blank worksheets with an answer
bank to practice choosing the appropriate conjunction words, connector
words, and/or relative pronouns.

Afterwards, hand out worksheets without an answer bank where students

create their own compound and complex sentences.
3.1.9 Dependent &
Independent Clauses

To demonstrate dependent and independent clauses:

1) Break up complex sentences into two parts on the board, either

by writing them or displaying printed cut-outs. The split should occur before
the connecting word in the sentence. If writing, use two different colors to
represent the separation.

2) Next, label the fragment containing the connector word the dependent
clause, and the other the independent clause.

For example:

3) Read the independent clause out loud and explain that it is independent
because it can exist by itself: it doesn’t need anything else to make a
complete sentence.

4) Read the dependent clause out loud and explain that it is dependent
because it cannot exist by itself: it depends on an independent clause to
make a complete sentence.
5) Write other examples of these clauses to clearly represent why and how
the dependent clauses only make sense when they are combined with an
independent clause:

Noun Clauses
This is a form of sentence that should only be presented to advanced
students to further develop their knowledge of language structure.

1) To present noun clauses, write several examples on the board. Explain that
a noun clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb which
cannot stand alone as a sentence. Underline the noun clause in each
sentence.

2) Show how a noun clause can be used as the subject of a sentence

For example:

"What you do on the weekends is not my business."

3) Show how it can also be used as the object of a sentence.

For example:

"It is not my business what you do on the weekends."

4) Write on the board the different ways that noun clauses can begin,
showing examples of how they make no sense by themselves, and how they
fit into complete sentences.

For example:

 Question words

where he works – "I know where he works."

what they say – "We don’t care what they say."

who the thief is – "The police want to know who the thief is."
how he manages – "How he manages to raise 4 kids by himself I will never
understand."

 "Whether" or "If"

whether you drink or not – "You should sleep here whether you drink or
not."

if she wants – "She can leave if she wants."

 Question words + 'to' + verb (Infinitive)

What to write – "What to write is up to you and your imagination."

Where to sleep – "Their concern is about where to sleep."

 "That"

that she will be late - "The teacher knew that she would be late."

The fact that he studied hard – "The fact that he studied hard for the test
made his teacher happy.”

The idea that each student – "The idea that each student learns at the
same speed is incorrect."

The evidence that supports – "The evidence that supports the argument
does not come from a reliable source."
5) Once noun clauses have been presented, provide students fill-in-the-
blank exercises with an answer bank to practice choosing the appropriate
noun clause to fit in the correct parts of sentences.

Adverbial Clauses

Essentially, adverbial clauses are dependent clauses that function

as adverbs in a sentence, modifying a verb, adjective, other adverb, or
independent clause.

1) The best way to present adverbial clauses is to demonstrate the difference

between adverbs in a sentence, adverb phrases in a sentence, and
then adverbial clauses in a sentence by writing examples on the board:
  Adverb: "I rode my bike to work today."
 Adverb Phrase: "I rode my bike to work this morning."
 Adverbial Clause: "I rode my bike to work before it started to rain."

2) Then, provide examples of adverbial clauses in a chart with the different

types, subordinating conjunctions that go with them, and questions they
are answering:

3) Once students understand what adverbial clauses are, give them fill-in-
the-blank exercises with an answer bank to practice choosing the
appropriate adverbial clauses.
Finite & Non-Finite Clauses

As previously discussed, every clause contains at least one verb phrase.

If the verb carries a tense, the clause is finite.

“I hiked up Mount Kilimanjaro in 2005.”

If the verb does not carry a tense, the clause is non-finite.

“I would love to hike Mount Kilimanjaro.”

Because the verb “hike” is in the past tense in the first example, the clause
is finite. In the second example, the verb “hike” does not have a tense so
the clause is non-finite.

Non-finite clauses are typically subordinate clauses. Subordinate clauses

are dependent on the main clause and usually linked with a conjunction. For
example;

“I got a passport because you need one to travel the world.”

“I got a passport” is the main, finite clause, “because” is the linking

conjunction and “you need one to travel the world” is the subordinate, non-
finite clause.

1) When presenting to students, write different sentences on the board to

compare.

 Put the clause in brackets and underline the verb.

 Label the sentence with a verb phrase that carries a tense: FINITE
"[She walked to the store] yesterday.” (past simple → Finite)
2) Label the other sentence with a verb phrase that does not carry a
tense: NON-FINITE

"I was told [to watch this movie]." (infinitive → non-finite)

3) Write more examples on the board to give students more chances to

comprehend and to further demonstrate the concept.

4) After presentation, hand out a worksheet with examples of both clauses.

Have students identify and label the clauses correctly.
3.1.11 Word Construction
Word construction, or the formation of words, requires an understanding of
their meaning and spelling. EFL students inevitably require a lot of time and
practice when learning how to understand many of the complexities of the
English language as it relates to word construction. Students need to be
aware of word structure to spell phonetically, arranging letters to spell words
by means of sound in an orderly, systematic way.

Spelling

There is no single best approach to teaching spelling. However, there are

some general guidelines that can be applied to almost every situation:

o Use a variety of materials:

 Auditory – Read words out loudly and clearly to allow
students to "hear" the correct spelling of words
 Visual – Write words on the board or show flashcards to
allow students to see the spellings

o Teach words relevant to students’ age & proficiency level:

 Make vocabulary lists using words relevant to students'
interests and daily lives
 Don’t waste time teaching words that students are unlikely
to use

Students should know the sounds of consonants, short vowels, long

vowels, diphthongs, etc.
Provide a reference guide for some of the most consistent rules and
spelling strategies.

Reference Guide For Spelling

I. Double Rule –

 For one-syllable words with a short vowel sound, ending in

one consonant (i.e., run)

→ double the last consonant and add a suffix that

begins with a vowel or y.

 swim → swimmer
 sit → sitting
 drip → drippy

 For one-syllable words ending in two consonants (i.e., tall)

OR
two vowels and one consonant (i.e., steal)

→ DO NOT double the final consonant before adding a

suffix that begins with a vowel!
  tall → taller
 steal → stealing
 rush → rushed
 For one-syllable words with a short vowel sound (i.e., sad)

→ do not double the final consonant before adding a

suffix that begins with a consonant.

 sad → sadly
 hand → handful
 quick → quickness

II. Silent 'e' Rule –

 For words ending with a silent "e," before adding

a suffix that begins with a vowel → drop the 'e'

 create → creating
 poke → poked
 believe → believable
 For words ending with a silent "e," before adding
a suffix that begins with a consonant

→ DO NOT drop the "e"

 Care → careless
 Safe → safety
 Arrange → arrangement

 For verbs ending with a silent "e'," before adding a suffix,

"y"

→ drop the "e"

 shine → shiny
 taste → tasty
 smoke → smoky
III. "Y" or "I" Rule -

 With words ending with a consonant AND a "y"

→ change the "y" to "i" before adding any suffix

 cry → cries
 sleepy → sleepiness
 plenty → plentiful

 ANY words ending with a "y"

→ DO NOT change the "y" if the suffix begins with "i"

 study → studying
 cry → crying
 pay → paying

 With words ending in a vowel and a "y" (play)

→ DO NOT change the "y" before adding a suffix

 play → playful
 say → saying
 joy → joyful

IV. Word Groupings -

Write words on the board with similar spelling patterns:

"ou" words:

 aloud
 around
 count
 ground
 sound

"er" words:

 perfect
 alert
 concern
 perfume
 expert

"ur" words:

 turkey
 return
 hurricane
 curtain

V. Using Sounds to Enhance Spelling and Retention -

At young ages, students' memory of spelling is enhanced by their awareness

of speech sounds, which progresses through the following learning
sequence:

 Individual letters (vowels and consonants)

 Patterns within words (ea, ee, ch, th, gh, sh, ou, etc.)
 Patterns that exist across several syllables
 Prefixes, roots, suffixes, and grammatical endings
Several tricks can be used in the classroom to help students associate
sound with spelling.

Catchy Rhymes:

"I" before "E", except after "C"

OR when pronounced like "A" like in neighbor or weigh
AND "weird" is just weird!

NOTE: There are exceptions to this rule, including:

 neither
 science
 their
 weird

Exceptions will need to be memorized.

VI. Spelling Acronyms:

 "BECAUSE" – Big Elephants Can Always Understand

Small Elephants
 "ARITHMETIC" – A Rat In The House May Eat The Ice
Cream
 "RHYTHM" – Rhythm Helps Your Two Hips Move
 "NECESSARY" – Not Every Cat Eats Sardines (Some Are
Really Yummy)
 "OCEAN" – Only Crabs Eat At Night
 "FAMILY" – Father And Mother I Love You

VII. Phrases for Word Endings:

 A friend is a friend until the END

 Your principal is your PAL
VIII. Rhyming:

Identifying how root sounds (like the ones below) are spelled helps students
quickly improve their spelling.

 spell, smell, fell, tell, shell

 mess, dress, unless, guess
 fist, gist, mist

Grammar
Effectively presenting and teaching grammar will be covered in Unit 6 in detail.
For now, we will briefly mention a few tips to aid grammar presentation.

 Use visual tools such as an overhead projector or

a whiteboard to create timelines and written diagrams to
show examples of complex grammatical concepts.
 To explain present progressive, for example, draw a
picture of a person walking on a timeline and write
above it:

 Teachers can mime the action while indicating tense on the

timeline, providing clarity of meaning. For example:

 He runs (point at "now" while miming running)

 He ran (point at "past" while miming running)
 He will run (point at "future" while miming running)
 Write out the target grammar structure on the board:
 Subject + be + verb + '-ing'
  Use the whiteboard to break down sentences into their
components using different colors of markers to show
the subject-verb relationship:

Presenting Sentence Stress

1) Start by demonstrating the difference between a sentence with stress

and one without.
  Read a sentence aloud from a text without putting any
stress on the words and ask students if they think it sounds
right.
 Next, read the same sentence, but with the correct
stresses on each word.

This gives students an auditory example to go by and a consciousness

of how much sentence stress matters in speaking.

2) Write a sentence on the board, marking the stressed syllables with a

line before the stress.

"I am |GO-ing to the |STore, your |DIN-ner is in the |OV-en."

3) Read the sentence aloud, clapping hands on the stressed syllables to

provide an additional cue for students.

4) To practice, have students mark the stress patterns themselves on various

sentences from texts and dialogues.
3.1.13 Practice Component

After being presented with new language, students require exercises and
activities to practice and retain what they have learned. Learning a language
involves both short and long-term memory. The more students practice using
the language, the more they transfer the information stored in their short-term
memory (the lessons learned in the classroom) to their long-term, or residual,
memory.

Practice takes the form of drills and controlled activities.

Drills

Though it may not be the most exciting form of teaching, drilling plays an
important role in the teaching process. Drilling - when students repeat what
the teacher says - develops pronunciation, proper syllabic stress, and correct
intonation while reinforcing the student's memory of new words, phrases, and
sentences. Several variations of drills to use after presenting new information
are outlined and described below:

Choral Repetition Drills

Ask the class to repeat phrases out loud in unison. Choral repetition gives all
students a chance to speak without singling out students who might be shy.

 Teacher: "This is a cat." (showing flashcard of cat)

 Students: "This is a cat." (together)
 Teacher: "This is a dog." (showing flashcard of dog)
 Students: "This is a dog." (together)

Afterwards, ask CCQs to make sure all the students have clearly understood
what they have said:

 Teacher: "Is this a cat?" (showing flashcard of cat)

 Student: "Yes"
 Teacher: "Is this a dog?" (showing flashcard of mouse)
 Student: "No, it’s a mouse."

Once a few rounds of choral repetition have been completed, call on individual
students to repeat.
  Teacher: OK, Timmy, repeat after me:
They have gone to the store.
 Timmy: They have gone to the store.
 Teacher: Good, now Sarah?
 Sarah: They have gone to the store.

*Tip: Don't call on students in the same order every time; incorporate
randomness to keep them on their toes!

Substitution Drills

Students are given a sentence to repeat. After repeating, they are provided
with a new word to substitute into the same sentence. For example:

 Teacher: I am going to become a police officer.

 Student: I am going to become a police officer.
 Teacher: OK, now use fire fighter in the same sentence.
 Student: I am going to become a fire fighter.

Transformation Drills

Students practice altering a linguistic structure, such as switching between

singular and plural subjects, active and passive constructions, positive and
negative forms, verb tenses, etc.

Answer in the negative:

  Teacher: Do you like pizza?
 Student: No, I don’t like pizza.
 Teacher: Do you want to go to the mall?
 Student: No, I don't want to go to the mall.

Change a statement into a question:

 Teacher: James likes reading.

 Student: Does James like reading?
 Teacher: Sarah liked the story.
 Student: Did she like the story?

Change an active sentence into a passive sentence:

 Teacher: Brian ate the lasagna.

 Student: The lasagna was eaten by Brian.
 Teacher: Mike wrote the book.
 Student: The book was written by Mike.

(The passive voice will be covered in more detail in an upcoming unit on

grammar.)

Demonstrating Drills

A drill needs to be modeled so students know how to respond. The simplest

method is to pick a bright student and do a few demonstrations with them. To
further assist students, teachers can write out the structure(s) on the board,
providing a visual reference for the drill.

Drilling Tips

Drills force students to repeat set patterns of language, which develops quick
and automatic responses. Despite their benefits, many students find drills
boring and lose interest quickly, becoming less engaged during class. Combat
this by:
  Keeping drills short (under 1 minute for each type)
 Using a variety of drill types (choral, individual, substitution,
transformation)
 Being unpredictable when choosing students
 Briefly revisiting drills between other activities

3.1.15 Practice Component

- Cont'd
Controlled Activities

As discussed in Unit 2, controlled activities are those that allow only limited
responses and focus on the accuracy of the target language. When student
confidence and comfort have increased through drilling, teachers move on to
controlled activities. The following is an example of a controlled activity that
can be modified as needed.

Controlled Activity Example:

1. Prepare students for the exercise by demonstrating and writing on the

board.

 Target language = simple past tense of irregular verbs

 Provide an example sentence:
"Our teacher ________ (gave/gaved/given) us a lot of homework this
weekend."
 Demonstrate the correct answer:
"Our teacher gave us a lot of homework this weekend."
2. Ask CCQs to remind students about irregular verbs, such as:

 Teacher: Do we add "-ed" to the end of irregular verbs to transform

them into past tense?
 Student: No.
 Teacher: When does the simple past take place - before or after the
present?
 Student: Before.

3. Split the class into pairs and set a time limit.

4. Provide the following worksheet to each pair:

a. The Olympic track team _____ (runned/ran/running) in the

championship race and won.
b. Amy and her sister ______ (eaten/ate/eated) all the cake at the birthday
party.
c. My dad _______ (teached/taught/teaching) me how to ride a bike when
I was five.
d. The school principal ________ (speaked/spoke/spoked) to all the
parents last night.
e. Yesterday, I ______ (saw/sawed/seen) a movie at the theaters with my
friend.

During the activity, teachers monitor performance, note mistakes, and

encourage students.
3.1.17 Production
Component
In the production component of the lesson, students use the new language in
a more communicative manner using less-structured exercises. Also known
as freer practice, students incorporate personal experiences and other
information to complete meaningful tasks with multiple answer possibilities.
The teacher speaks less, letting students take on more responsibility in
directing the activity. This stage comes after students have gained some
comfort with the new language via sufficient drilling and controlled practice.

Examples of Production exercises include debates, skits, free role-plays,

narratives, questions and answers, and summarizing stories.

Production Activity Example:

Complete a Dialogue in the Past Tense – The teacher provides an unfinished

dialogue between two people discussing the past weekend. Students, divided
into pairs, create 6 more lines to continue the dialogue, then act it out in front
of the class.

After students have completed sufficient controlled practice of the simple past,
write the following on the board:

 A: Hey Mark, what did you do this weekend?

 B: I went to the mall with my brother. What did you do this weekend?
 A: I watched a great movie.
 B: Did you watch it alone?
 A: No, I …………..
 B:
 A:
  B:
 A:
 B:
 A:

1. Leave the target grammar structure up on the board in a separate

section for students to refer to.

2. Demonstrate by acting out the incomplete dialogue with one of the

stronger students in the classroom, adding 2 lines to the dialogue.

3. Instruct the students to jot down their lines, set a 5 minute time limit, and
check for comprehension of the activity.

4. Monitor students as they prepare their lines.

5. Students present their completed dialogues in front of the class.

3.1.19 Lesson Timing &

Other Tips
Presentation of new target language should account for approximately 20-
25% of lesson time. Practice should take from 30-40%, while 25-35% of class
time should be allocated towards Production. Lessons should always be
flexible.

Teachers monitor and assess how well students are picking up and using the
new language. If students demonstrate a strong grasp of the new material, the
teacher can allocate additional time towards freer practice. Successful lesson
time allocation will be explained in further detail in Unit 5 Section 2 – Lesson
Plans.
3.2.1 Teaching Speaking

EFL students overseas tend to have good reading comprehension and

listening skills. Their spoken English tends to be the least developed of the
linguistic skill set. This is due to the lack of opportunities to practice and public
school English curriculums that emphasize passing exams over oral fluency.
Students are trained to memorize rules and structures, but often have difficulty
putting them into practice.
Speaking requires students to formulate ideas and produce information using
their voices. Speaking is therefore considered a productive language skill,
as opposed to listening and reading which are considered receptive
language skills. Writing, like speaking, is also a productive language skill.

Speaking English properly also requires a basic understanding of social

norms. Social norms involve taking into consideration things like who is
speaking, the context and the situation. By having a good grasp of social
norms, students will far better be able to pick up on things like slang, humor
and hyperbole.

Useful Terminology

 Mechanics – Using words in the correct order with proper grammar,

word choice, and with the right pronunciation (i.e., articulation, volume,
expressiveness, pronunciation, pitch, fluency, etc.)

 Functions – The situations in which speaking skills are needed and

performed (i.e., transaction vs. interaction). It is important to know when
a message needs to be clearly communicated and understood
– transaction/exchange of information, and when exact understanding is
not required – interaction/development of relationships.

 Phrasal expressions - Expressions that are widely used in both written

and spoken English which are created by combining verbs and
prepositions, to express meanings which are not apparent from the
definitions of the individual words that constitute the phrase (i.e., break
up, calm down, hang up, ask around, catch up, etc.)

Reasons to Learn Spoken English

Different EFL students learn how to speak English for various reasons. Some
examples include:
 Travel - In most countries around the world, English is the universal
language used for oral communication between locals and visitors.

 Tourism – Employees of tour operators, restaurants, hotels, airlines,

tourist landmarks, and vendors communicate with international travelers
every day. Spoken English is essential for successful tourism
operations.

 Business – Companies seek out oral English training in order to

improve international service standards; develop and maintain
relationships with international clients, partners, and suppliers; and
increase overall competitiveness.
 Academics - Students who would like to enroll in high school,
university, or other educational programs overseas will generally be
required to have strong oral English skills, as well as a good score on a
proficiency exam which includes a spoken component (like the IELTS).

 Immigrants – Immigrants need to learn English in order to

communicate in everyday life situations, assimilate into their new home,
and to gain employment.

 Banking – Within the world of finance and investment, there is demand

for English communication abilities as multinational banks expand
operations in new markets.

 Social Status – In some countries, speaking English fluently is a sign of

good education, background, and wealth. Speaking English also gives
people the possibility of communicating with more people and having
more social relationships and friends.
3.2.3 Linguistic
Development of Speech
Understanding how oral language is naturally acquired and learned at various
ages and development stages lets teachers design lessons for specific
classroom demographics.

Exposure

Spoken language is learned through intuitive experiences as an infant child in

a progression from cries and coos, to hand gestures, to the imitation of
sounds, to using 2 - 3 word phrases, to naming familiar objects. Younger EFL
students have the advantage of absorbing language patterns and intonation
without even thinking. This is called acquiring language through exposure.

This means that whenever language is used around younger learners,

development is occurring. They develop speech, articulation, vocabulary,
grammar, phrasing, and sentence structure mainly by exposure rather than
analysis and explanations until approximately 10 years old.

There are a few steps teachers can take to provide young students with
an optimal learning environment:

 Repetition of new words within phrases (i.e., "Ball! This is a ball!")

  Careful enunciation
 Exaggerated body language and gestures to convey meaning
 Use of clear and proper intonation in speech
 Incorporation of plenty of listening into each lesson
 Decoration of the classroom with plenty of English language materials

Processing

As students get older, analytical thought processing starts to develop and

becomes a part of learning. While students still mainly learn by exposure until
they are 10 years old, some logical explanations can be integrated into
lessons from the age of 6.

As they grow into adults, students’ learning styles change and speaking skills
are developed mainly through direct explanation/conscious activation and
some indirect exposure/natural use of the language in classroom discussion.
Adults tend to learn through critical thinking, explanations, and logical analysis
of the language.

Acquiring language is a gradual, lengthy process. Often, adult learners

complain that they are progressing very slowly or not at all, but eventually they
realize that they have been making progress all the while.
3.2.5 Steps to Effective
Speaking Classes

Before any type of speaking activity, teachers should:

Effective speaking lessons are structured using the basic PPP method.

Presentation
Introduction of Target Language – The teacher speaks for the majority of the
time while introducing the new language by:

 Demonstrating authentic contexts in which the language is used

 Explaining proper form - how the grammar is structured
 Demonstrating correct pronunciation, stress and intonation patterns
 Pointing out any irregularities with the new language
 Using pictures and body language to further convey meaning

The following is a presentation on zero conditionals.

1. Lead in to the topic, piquing student interest

Teacher: If we put ice in a frying pan and heat it up, what happens?

Student: It melts! It becomes water!

Teacher: Yes! You would be surprised if it didn’t, right?

2. Draw a chart on the board using the concept that was just introduced:
3. Define the topic - "zero conditionals" - on the board, and explain how it is
used:

Teacher: "If" is the zero conditional. Any time we use "if,"

the condition always has a certain result (point to the columns on the chart
while explaining). Let’s take a look at some more examples…

4. Write more examples in the same chart on the board:

To reinforce the meaning, teachers can use pictures or draw on the board to
explain the concept visually:
5. Drill the sentences and then try to elicit 2 more examples from the students

6. Demonstrate that "if" can also be replaced by "when" and retain the same
meaning by writing a few examples on the board:
If it rains, I bring my umbrella.
When it rains, I bring my umbrella.

7. After a few demonstrations, have a pair of stronger students try to complete

a couple transformations by themselves.

8. Next, show the class how to restructure the sentences visually, using
another chart on the board:

9. Ask concept check questions to students at random to ensure full

comprehension of the new language

Use the example – "I bring my umbrella when it rains"

Practice

Practicing Target Language – Students practice the new language in a

controlled manner by:

 Drills for accuracy, pronunciation, and intonation training

 Limited-response activities
 Pair and group work
 Activities that familiarize students with the target language and raise
confidence level
The following drills are designed for student practice of zero
conditionals.

1. Choral and individual drilling of the zero conditionals presented earlier (this
should last under 2 minutes)

2. Substitution Drills:

Instruct students to repeat the sentences you say, replacing "when" with "if"
and vice versa:

Teacher: I bring an umbrella if it rains.

Student: I bring an umbrella when it rains.

Teacher: If I’m hungry, I eat.

Student: When I’m hungry, I eat.

Teacher: I sleep if I’m tired.

Student: I sleep when I’m tired.

3. Transformation Drills:
Teacher: Does ice melt if you heat it?

Student: Yes, ice melts if you heat it.

Teacher: Do you bring an umbrella when it rains?

Student: Yes, I bring an umbrella when it rains.

4. Practice Activity 1

Write an example sentence on the board (notice there are only two
possibilities and one obvious answer):

"If I am hungry, ____________ (I eat / I sleep)."

Elicit the correct answer from students.

Instruct students that they will receive a worksheet in which they will fill out the
answers and present them orally to their partner. Ask check questions to
ensure they understand the activity.
5. Pair off students and hand out a 10-question worksheet to each student

6. During the activity, monitor performance and note mistakes.

7. Practice Activity 2

Bring small slips of paper prepared with phrases that can be used in zero
conditional sentences such as:

 "have enough time"

 "eat too much"
 "go to bed too late"

Place the slips of paper in a hat.

Provide game instructions to the class:

 Two teams
 One student from Team A picks 1 piece of paper
 Use the paper to create a sentence with a zero conditional within 10
seconds
 Demonstrate to students:

Paper: "have enough time"

"If I have enough time before work, I eat breakfast."

 If the paper is yellow, only the student answers

 If the paper is blue, the whole team can work on the answer
 Student then rolls dice for points
 Correct answer gains points
 Wrong answer loses points

8. Ask CCQs to check student comprehension of the activity.

9. During the game, teachers moderate, ensure only English is used, and
keep score on the board.

10. After the game, the teacher can reward the winning team.
Production

Production of Target Language – Students have practiced using the new

language in safe, controlled activities and move on to more free use of the
language by:

 Incorporating personal experiences and views into the language

 Connecting the practiced language with real communication
 Becoming “users” of the language rather than "learners" of the language
 Taking part in activities that do not tell students what to say
 Reducing immediate error correction
 Completing fluency-focused activities
 Taking more control over the content, creating a student-centric
environment

In the following activity, students use zero conditionals in a personal,

free manner.

Create a Dialogue – Pairs of students are instructed to create their own

dialogue based on a topic given by the teacher, then act it out in front of the
class.
1. Conduct a freer warm-up exercise:

Teacher: If I have $20, I go to the movies. (point to a student) What

about you?

Student 1: If I have $20, I buy candy. What about you? (points to a

classmate)

Student 2: If I have $20, I buy a toy. What about you? (points to a

classmate)

Student 3: If I have $20, I eat at McDonald's. What about you? (points

to a classmate)

Student 4: I have $20, I invest it. What about you? (points to a

classmate)

2. Provide clear instructions, including dialogue length and time limits, to

students, and ask check questions to ensure they understand the
activity.

3. Split the class into pairs and assign a topic to each pair such as:

o Two friends find a million dollars in a bag

o Son talks to his dad about whether to go to college or play
professional football
o Brother talks to sister about quitting his job or not

4. While students prepare their dialogues, teachers monitor performance,

ensure only English is being spoken, and answer questions students
might have regarding the task.

5. Once the allotted time is up, students come to the front and present
their dialogues to the class.
3.2.7 Fluency and Accuracy

Speaking can be broken down into two components: fluency and accuracy.
Fluency refers to the ability to produce rapid, flowing, natural-sounding
speech.

Accuracy refers to the ability to produce grammatically correct sentences that

are comprehensible.

Goals of Fluency Activities

o Students use the language quickly and smoothly
o Students activate responses and structures that have been taught in
class
o Students' responses become natural and unconscious rather than
conscious
o Students connect sounds and train rhythm, intonation and stress
o Students focus on communication

Goals of Accuracy Activities

o Students use the language accurately with minimal errors
o Students focus on grammar usage, word choice, and construction
o Students' use of correct construction and structure becomes natural and
unconscious
o Students focus on structure

Exercises to Develop Fluency

Example: Quick Storytelling

o Introduce the activity in advance (i.e., the day before, or before a break),
giving students time to think of a good story from their lives
o Demonstrate by telling the class an interesting, short story from your
own life
o Have students brainstorm ideas about how to tell an interesting story
from their life. Assist by handing out a list of suggestions to each
student which could include:


o
 a funny thing that happened when you were young
 a time you got really lucky
 an embarrassing moment
 the best day of your life
 a successful sports story
 a romantic date
 an adventure had while travelling
 a vacation memory
 a lesson learned
  an interesting dream or nightmare

o Have students write down their name and a title for their story on the
handout
o Pair students off
o Explain the rules of the activity:

o
o Tell your partner your story (no longer than 2 minutes each)
o After the stories are told, exchange handouts with your
partner
o Change partners according to instructions
o Tell your former partner's story to your current partner
o Use only the title and your memory of the story

o Ask check questions to make sure everyone understands the activity:


o
 After telling the story, what should you do?
 Exchange handouts.
 After changing partners, which story should you tell, the one
about yourself, or the one from the sheet of paper in your
hand?
 The one from the sheet.
 How long should the story be?
 Two minutes.

Other fluency activities that can be implemented to encourage speaking

include:

Role playing - students pretend to be a character, act out a given situation, or

both. Provide each pair with a different situation sheet. The activity will use
previously learned vocabulary and grammar, but the focus will be on fluency.

Example:
Dialogues – Write a set of keywords on the board that relate to the theme of
the lesson and an opening sentence. Pairs of students use 6 of the keywords
within a dialogue they improvise using the provided sentence. Encourage
silliness - the dialogue doesn't need to be factually true or reasonable,
because the students are exercising their fluency. Humor is a great way to
open students up!
Example keywords and opening sentence:

 A: "You have so many beaches in Australia."

 B:
 A:
A fluency activity doesn't need to be formal and structured. It can be as simple
as asking students about their weekend:

 Teacher: Hi class, how was your weekend?

 Students: Good!
 Teacher: Amy, tell me what you did this weekend.
 Amy: I went to the carnival.
 Teacher: Oh cool, I have been there before. Who did you go with?
 Amy: I went with my parents and my brother.
 Teacher: Did you go on the roller coaster? That’s my favorite ride!
 Amy: ………………………….
 Teacher: That’s nice, Amy. Okay Oscar, what did you do for fun this
weekend?

Having students talk freely and tell stories outside the context of a structured
activity allows them to express their thoughts and ideas more naturally and
without pressure. Free talk should be incorporated into every EFL classroom
to create a comfortable environment for students to speak in.
Exercises to Develop Accuracy

Example: Controlled Accuracy Activity (Before & After)

 ”I ATE my breakfast BEFORE I CAME to school today.”

 “I BRUSHED my teeth AFTER I TOOK a shower.”

o Explain "before" and "after" in the past simple tense by giving real-
life examples, placing a stress on the words in the past tense and the
words "before" and "after".
 o Write a couple examples on the board for students to read and
repeat aloud.
o Point out the use of the past simple tense twice in the sentence.
o Then, put up a picture sequence on the board or projector.

o Write sentences on the board, leaving blanks where "before" and/or

"after" should be.

For example:

 "He/she washed the windows __________ he/she washed the floor.”

 “He/she washed the windows __________ he/she washed the car.”
 “He/she washed the car ___________ he/she washed the floor.”
 “He/she washed the car ___________ he/she washed the windows.”
 “He/she washed the floor ____________ he/she washed the car.”
 “He/she washed the floor ____________he/she washed the windows.”

o Call on students to read the sentence aloud and fill in the appropriate
word in the blank.

For example:

 Teacher: What did he/she do BEFORE he/she washed the floor?

 Student 1: He/she washed the windows before he/she washed the
floor.
 Teacher: Good. Now, what did he/she do AFTER he/she washed the
floor?
 Student 2: He/she washed the car after he/she washed the floor.
For example:

 “He/she broke the window after he/she cleaned the floor.”

o Ask the students questions to confirm their understanding of

the grammar concept.
o Next, demonstrate how to replace the verb in the past simple tense
(washed) with a different verb in the past simple tense
o Call on students to do the same, coming up with their own replacement
verbs.
o After students have completed a few verb replacements, ask them what
activities they have done the day or week before and write them on the
board, conjugating the verb into the past simple tense:

 ate ice cream

 went to the park
 drove to Grandma’s house
 played basketball
 swam in the ocean
 drank lemonade

o After this, call on individual students to form sentences orally by

adding a subject (I, he, she, we, they, you) and connecting two of the
action phrases on the board with a subject and either "before" or "after."

For example:

o “I ate ice cream after I went to the park.”

o “We played basketball before we swam in the ocean.”
Correct students’ mistakes if any are made during the oral exercise,
as accuracy is the main objective of the activity.

Example: Plural Nouns Accuracy Practice

o Write various sentences on the board in the singular form

o Have students orally transform singular nouns into plural nouns.

For example:

 Teacher: The man was working hard.

 Student: The men were working hard.
 Teacher: The goose is flying in the sky.
 Student: The geese are flying in the sky.
3.2.9 Debates
Debates are a great speaking activity with intermediate to high-level EFL
students. These generally take a long time to prepare and present, so make
sure to factor in time appropriately.

Preparations

 Provide a topic or a set of topics for students to choose from. Topics

can range from "The Cafeteria Food Menu Should Have More Choices"
to "Capital Punishment Should be Abolished"
 Teachers introduce the chosen topic and provide background info
 Divide the class into groups of 2 to 4 students
 Define key and related vocabulary
 Have students research the topic (provide articles and/or informative
handouts if researching in class)
 Students prepare for the debate in their groups

Rules

 No reading from paper

  Only notes/cue cards allowed
 Both teams must remain on topic for the duration of the debate
 No speaking out of turn
 Speaking times must be respected (although they will vary depending
on level of students)
 No verbal insults allowed

Structure

 Pro team: 2-3 minutes

 Con team: 2-3 minutes
 Con team: 2-3 minutes (rebuttal)
 Pro team: 2-3 minutes (rebuttal)
 Cross-examination: 3 minutes each side

During debates, the students from other groups waiting their turn will serve as
judges. The evaluating students rate the two teams using a point system like
the one below. The team with the highest score wins.
It is not imperative that the teacher must name a winner and a loser. The
purpose of the debate is for students to clearly communicate ideas,
use appropriate grammar, and demonstrate fluency and accuracy of
speech. Teachers should praise students for their efforts while providing
constructive language feedback at the end of the debate.
3.2.11 Strategies for
Effective Conversation
Classes
Speaking activities are successful if the teacher speaks less than half the
time and students are doing the rest of the talking. Many students fear public
speaking (even in the classroom) and may slip into passive listening roles.
Getting up in front of an audience and speaking a language that is not your
native tongue and which you are not yet proficient in is frightening for anyone!
On the other side of the spectrum, some students are confident and talkative
by nature and could end up monopolizing conversation time.

The following are effective strategies to conduct successful speaking

lessons:

Vary Group Size

Some students bask in the energy of large group discussions while others feel
shy and prefer to speak in smaller groups. It is generally less intimidating for
students to work in pairs or small groups limited to five people.

When students start to feel more comfortable with their classmates, teachers
may introduce activities that call for larger group sizes and eventually
progress to having full class discussions and presentations.
Nominate a Leader in each Group

Nominate one stronger student in each group as the "chair" to ensure that
everyone participates, follows the rules and tasks, and discussions run
smoothly.

Have Groups Share Resources to Encourage Speaking

When handing out worksheets, give each group only one copy so they are
forced to read, work, and discuss the task together.

Over-Talkative Groups

Use a "talking stick" for groups of students who are all speaking at once and
not taking turns. A talking stick gives the person holding the stick the privilege
to speak while everyone else listens. Limit each student to 15 seconds with
the talking stick. An over-talkative group is better than a quiet one as they are
using language, so consider yourself lucky if you have this problem!

Shy Students
Distribute an equal amount of coins or marbles to each student in a group.
Each coin or marble represents one instance of active participation or input
into the discussion. Every time a student talks productively, they can throw
one coin/marble into the center. Then make a rule that requires any student
who has not gotten rid of all their coins/marbles by the end of the exercise to
summarize their group’s discussion to the entire class. This is a way to
encourage shy students to actively participate.

Adjusting Strategies for Age

When having discussions, differences between younger and older students

become apparent. In an adult classroom, students will choose roles and have
their own opinions. With younger students, teachers may have to assign
roles and opinions in order to keep the activities flowing smoothly. Personal
factors may make it difficult for students to express their ideas openly.
Whether they are adults or children, it is important to remind students that the
point of the exercises is simply to practice speaking.

Outline Speaking Rules

Outlining basic rules of conversation can help teachers avoid an unpleasant

class environment. If a sense of civil instruction is not provided and
maintained, discussions occasionally may turn into a series of interruptions
and retaliations. To avert these issues, the following rules should be
announced before beginning any freer speaking activity:
  Wait Your Turn - No interrupting others until they are finished speaking.
 Be Respectful – Everyone has their own opinion. Even if you disagree
with someone, do not insult them or disrespect them.
 Share the Conversation – Do not monopolize the conversation.
 Actively Participate – Disengaging from the conversation defeats the
purpose of the activity and inhibits you from practicing and improving.

Teachers should add other rules that effectively manage behavior during
speaking exercises.

Pre-Teach

This concept cannot be stressed enough! There is certain information and key
language that students need to possess in order to engage in speaking
activities. In every instance, students should be pre-taught the necessary
language tools (vocabulary, expressions, sentence patterns, etc.) beforehand.

If students learned the vocabulary and structures a few days earlier, do

a quick review before commencing the activity. The better prepared students
are, the more they will be able to practice with confidence, resulting in a
successful activity.

Select Motivating & Interesting Material

Is your classroom full of young teens that are crazy about Twilight: Breaking
Dawn? Use it to your advantage and model a class around vampires. Always
take account of students' interests when choosing conversation topics.
Speaking topics that are of particular interest to students are most effective in
getting students to engage and relate the activity to real life. Offer students a
choice of topics every once in a while so they have some input into what is
used.

Provide Specific Tasks & Avoid Overgeneralized Topics

Tasks provide students with a reason to further discuss a topic. Imagine

splitting students into groups and asking them to talk about a topic like
"obesity in America." There is a good chance that the conversation will reach
a dead end quickly. In contrast, provide each group with a problem and
instruct them to come up with at least 15 different solutions. Students will have
plenty of opportunity and direction to practice the target vocabulary and
sentence structures in the fulfillment of the task. See the task-based activity in
our Library section for a complete example. Other task-based activities that
require speaking include:

 Information gap tasks - one student knows something the other must
find out in order to fill in a chart
 Map activities - one student tries to find a place on the map based on
his partner’s spoken directions
 Role-plays – one that requires a decision to be made by the end of the
task

Move Around
Movement increases blood flow and increases energy. If students seem to
be getting tired, incorporate activities that allow them to get up and move
around, such as having students stand up and switch partners/seats, get up
and stretch, or write on the board. Games with movement and competition (for
example, a race to the board) work well to wake up younger students and get
them back in excitement mode.

Set Secondary Goals/Objectives

Besides targeting new vocabulary and sentence structures, the speaking

activities a teacher designs should include secondary goals such as building
confidence, building accuracy, building fluency, and practicing specific
language functions.
3.2.13 Correcting Speaking
When mistakes are made during speech, EFL teachers should avoid
making direct corrections. Instead, stop and ask students to repeat what they
said. This allows students to figure out what they are doing wrong and correct
themselves. This is known as self-correction. Using this method of teaching
speaking puts the responsibility of the learning process on the students,
thereby encouraging them to improve themselves.

 Choose an appropriate time to correct - Teachers should correct

major errors on the spot (during accuracy-focused activities), but minor
errors and errors unrelated to the lesson should be covered after the
student(s) have finished speaking.

 Weigh the pros and cons – There isn’t a clearly established formula
for knowing when it is appropriate to correct. Often the teacher has to
use their own judgment. For example, when an activity is going
extremely well, the entire class is engaged, and all are using English in
a communicative manner, the teacher might not want to halt the
momentum and flow in order to correct errors.

 Body Language - Use a set of predefined hand gestures to indicate

certain ways for them to self-correct mistakes. For example: "incorrect"
could be signaled by a side-to-side waving motion of the index finger,
"wrong word order" by a circular motion of the two forefingers, etc.
3.3.1 Teaching Listening

Listening, a receptive skill, is crucial for effective conversation. In the following

section, we are going to discuss the benefits of listening lessons, different
types of effective listening exercises, and how to help students develop
listening skills and become effective communicators.
Reasons for Teaching
Listening

 Increase conversational abilities

 Increase self-awareness of speaking errors and ability to correct them
 Learn more English (via audio formats)!
 Watch TV
  Listen to the radio
 Listen to songs
 Enjoy a show at the theater
 Watch English movies at the cinema
 Listen to podcasts
 Listen to helpful announcements abroad (airport, library, train station,
etc.)
 Use automated telephone services (park opening times, schedules, bill
payments etc) abroad
 Listen to directions

You might be wondering how good listening can help students recognize and
correct their own mistakes without a teacher. With enough listening practice
over time, students get accustomed to stress and sound patterns in words and
sentences and are more able to distinguish incorrect sounds, grammar, and
word choice in their own speech. When the errors are recognized repeatedly,
students with good study habits can self-correct. Fluency and accuracy in
speech are inextricably linked with strong listening skills.

What is a "native" accent? Different dialects exist in English depending on the

country and region. Australian English, British English, Irish English, Canadian
English, and American English have vast differences in their accents,
articulations, and combinations of words, not to mention the great variety of
regional differences in the idioms and phrasal expressions used in
conversation. Listen to the following three clips and see if you can identify
each accent (we'll let you know what they are later on):

While Australian English, Irish English, and British English share many
similarities, and American English and Canadian English share another set of
similarities, there also exist different regional dialects within each country
(which you may have picked up on after listening to the second clip).

Vowels are pronounced differently, words are used in different contexts, and
grammar structures vary greatly from region to region and country to country.

As a result of the great variety of spoken English around the world, it is good
practice to expose students to multiple variations. The degree with which we
expose students to different accents will depend largely on their future goals.
For example, a Chinese businessperson who travels to San Francisco for
meetings every other month with a local sales team is unlikely to hear much of
the Irish accent! The bulk of listening for this student would be in American
English.

Different Types of
Listening
There are different types of listening skills we utilize depending on the reason
for listening. Every day we listen intensively and extensively.
Intensive listening is used to gain specific information. This information can
include times, dates, names, places, directions, instructions, descriptions, etc.
Listening to a movie schedule over the phone, inquiring about a UPS delivery,
and learning a new recipe are all examples of intensive listening. When EFL
students listen to a story and answer specific questions related to content,
they are utilizing intensive listening skills.

Intensive listening (also known as informative listening) involves:

 Picking out specific information while listening

 Listening for the exact words of a phrase or expression
 Listening for details
 Listening to mimic a text

Extensive listening is the type of listening we mainly do for enjoyment. This

includes listening to:
  The radio
 Music
 Television shows
 Audio books
 Different styles of theater
 Comedy
 Public speakers

Extensive listening involves listening without having to make any kind of

detailed analysis of the language. It is listened to as an end in itself, rather
than a means to an end.

The following chart shows different situations in which intensive listening and
extensive listening are performed:
Other Listening
Categories

Other types of listening exist for different conversational situations, including

therapeutic listening, sympathetic listening, biased listening, dialogic listening,
and critical listening. These different types of listening may be used when
forming opinions, helping a friend through a problem, improving relationships,
talking with family, and/or evaluating or judging what is being said.
The variety of listening we expose students to will depend on the resources
we have available to us. There are numerous course books that include CDs
of recorded dialogues, a large number of podcast sites with free materials,
movies with subtitles, news broadcasts, radio announcements, and an
endless amount of listening material from the internet that can be used in the
classroom for both intensive and extensive listening practice. Choosing the
appropriate materials and activities will depend on the English level of our
students, their age, their interests, and the language goals of the lesson.

Much of the material found on the internet, television, and radio is created for
native English speakers, and would be too difficult to use with many lower
level EFL students. These are known as authentic materials. However,
teachers shouldn’t provide listening material that is too inauthentic or fake
either. Teachers should seek out material that is realistic, but simple enough
to be appropriate for student levels. There are some great websites that
provide authentic material that is recorded using simple vocabulary, grammar
and minimal slang.

While there is not much realistic authentic English listening material for
beginner-level students, it is best to have them listen to authentic English as
soon as they have enough vocabulary to understand its general meaning. If
they grow too accustomed to hearing the language spoken differently from the
way it is spoken by native English speakers, it will be difficult for them to take
part in genuine social interactions in English environments.
Accents

Clip 1 is an American accent. Clip 2 is an Australian accent. Clip 3 is a British

accent.
3.3.3 Listening Skills

Although known as a receptive skill, listening is actually an active process that

draws on many sub-skills.

Some of the subskills of listening include interpreting:

 Intonation – interpreting differences in pitch to better understand

conveyed meaning

 Body language – interpreting the meaning of body movements. For

example, quick movements and exaggerated gesticulations can
communicate excitement, anger, and frustration, while slow, small,
 deliberate movements can communicate calmness, relaxation, or
boredom

 Accents – the ability to differentiate between accents and speakers

(i.e., male vs. female, old vs. young, British vs. American, deep vs. high-
pitched voices, EFL speakers vs. native speakers, etc.)

 Informal language – the use of slang in informal situations (such as

"chilling" for "relaxing," or "wicked" for "awesome") as well as colloquial
words and expressions (such as "cheers" to say "Thank you," or "It's on
the house" to say "It’s free"). These can be difficult to teach due to the
constant invention of new slang, and regional differences (i.e., in
America "What's up?" means "How are you?," while in the UK it means
"What's wrong?")

 Rate, speed, and rhythm of delivery – these factors provide insight

into urgency and seriousness. Good listeners use this info to decide the
best tone and content with which to respond

 Listening for word/sentence stress – native speakers tend to blend

vowels and consonants together (assimilation), leave sounds out (word
linking), and/or add other sounds (word intrusion) when speaking
rapidly, which is discussed more in the Unit on Lexis (7.1)

 Picking out important details – during a story, conversation,

announcement, or speech, storing key details to short-term memory is
essential for effective listening (i.e., numbers, names, places, times,
etc.).

 Responding and giving feedback cues – giving signals lets the

speaker know the listener is paying attention. For example:
 - Nodding the head

- Saying things like "Hmm," "Of course," "Right," "Yes," "Uh huh,"
"Sorry, could you repeat that?" "Really!" "Oh no!" etc.

 Understanding hesitations and fillers – native speakers make noises

or use different words to signal that they are thinking of what to say next
or how to say it in the right words. For example:

- um

- err

- hmm

- like

- I mean

- uhh

- well

- sort of

- so

 Differences between spoken and written language – native speakers

do not always use complete sentences when speaking (i.e., "There
 yet?" instead of "Are you there yet?"). Sometimes the sounds of multiple
words blend together to sound like a single word. For example:

- I'm "gonna go" instead of "I am going to go"

- "I'll see-ya-round" instead of "I will see you around"

- "Gotcha" instead of "I got you" (meaning "I understand")

You'd be surprised at how many fillers, hesitations, and blends native English
speakers use in everyday conversation. Next time you are watching an
English movie with a focus on conversation, pay attention to all the fillers,
pauses, and unclassified sounds they utter!
3.3.5 Listening Obstacles

EFL students are capable of consciously processing multiple aspects of

speech (intonation, sequence, tone, speed, mood, etc.) in their L1, but find it
difficult to process these aspects of English. This is especially true with older
students who have grown accustomed to discriminating the sounds in their
own language. The solution for this is to encourage students to listen to
English as often as they possibly can. As they listen to proper English, they
will naturally mimic its pronunciation and intonation themselves.

Here are a few tips to share with EFL students:

 Pay attention to visual clues such as body language and facial

expressions - This will help students understand the mood and predict
what is being said even if they don’t understand every word. Practice
this sub-skill by showing them a video clip without sound and having
them guess what the conversation is about. As a teacher, use
exaggerated expressions and body language when presenting.

 Pay attention to useful predictors – For example, certain words used at

the beginning of a message or conversation can help students predict
what might come next ("Happy Birthday," "Everyone listen closely,"
"Congratulations," etc.).
  Recognize conjunction words (and, but, or, although, because, for, after,
however, therefore, etc.) – This can help indicate different parts of a
sentence.

 Use expressions that convey understanding, agreement, and/or

confirmation of listening - ("Right," "Of course," "Sure," "Mm hmm,"
"Interesting," "Okay," "Oh really," etc.).

 Use expressions that convey misunderstanding – "I'm sorry, could you

repeat that?"

 Be aware of "filler words" – be sure to explain to your students the

common existence of filler words in conversation and how to avoid
allowing it to distract them from understanding the main idea.

Listening exercise tips for teachers

 Choose interesting and relevant material for listening exercises – It is
discouraging for students to listen to something that they cannot relate
to or that they have no interest in.

 Mix it up! - Don’t always assign the same types of listening exercises.
Use a variety of activities to help generate the desire for students to
listen to spoken English in its various forms (songs, dictations, fill-in-the-
blanks, interactive games, etc.).

 Give clear and precise instructions - Use short simple sentences, logical
steps, and check for comprehension.

 Make sure the activities are appropriate to the students' skill level - If
students do not have the necessary vocabulary or comprehension skills
for a chosen activity, they will become discouraged and
disengage from it. Conversely, if the activities do not challenge them
they will become bored and disinterested.

 Repetition is helpful - Encourage students to ask for clarification and

repetition when they do not understand something or did not hear
clearly. Whether the teacher is speaking or an audio track is being
played, proper pauses should be taken throughout the exercise to allow
students to absorb information bit by bit. The listening passage should
be repeated at least once or as many times as needed. This can be
adjusted according to class level and competence.

 Ask comprehension check questions - After a listening segment,

teachers ask check questions to make sure the students fully
understood the language, the setting, the characters, the storyline, and
the main idea or point. For example, after students listen to a story, the
teacher might ask:
 Encourage responses - When the objective is for students to
comprehend meaning, teachers ask questions to draw out students'
opinions and elaborate on the details of the material. This prevents
students from just listening to the language and gets them to try to
analyze the content. For example:


o In what sort of country did you imagine the story?
o Have you ever been in the same situation as the character in the
story?
o How did you feel at the beginning of the story?
o How did you feel at the end?
o In your opinion, what is the story trying to say?
o Is this story similar to other stories you know?
o Did any of the characters remind you of people you know?
Listening Levels
For beginner level students, teachers can make the following adjustments to
listening activities:

 Speak a little slower

 Use simpler vocabulary

 Pause more often and for longer periods of time

 Use shorter, less complex sentences

 Simplify responses: do not ask for a verbal response – ask for

physical responses to commands (pointing to a picture/object,
draw what is being described, trace directions on a map, circle the
correct word on a worksheet, complete a chart, etc.)

For intermediate level students, teachers can make the following adjustments
to listening activities:
  Speak or use materials closer to normal/authentic speed

 Incorporate previously learned vocabulary with new vocabulary

 Decrease the amount and length of pauses

 Incorporate previously learned sentence structure and grammar

points with new concepts

 Demand verbal and analytical responses: challenge students by

asking for more developed responses (repeat what was said,
perform a dictation, translate the listening text into their own
language, form summaries, solve problems, write alternate
endings to a story, engage in real-life-style conversation, find the
main idea and/or message of a story, etc.)

For upper-intermediate to advanced-level students, challenge students by

adding more complicated variables to the listening process, such as:

 Expose students to a variety of dialects of English by using audio

recorded by authentic speakers from different English native-
speaking countries (UK, Australia, Ireland, Canada, Scotland, New
Zealand) and with regional variations

 Increase the length of recordings

 Listen to more complex conversations (professional interviews,
debates, public speeches, lectures, political talk shows etc.)

 Give students critical thinking questions that encourage them to

not only listen to the content and understand what is being said,
but also to evaluate the language and comprehend deeper
meaning
3.3.8 Listening Activities
This is the most effective order:

1. Warm-up: Ask students, "What type of food do you like to eat?" "How
often do you eat out?" "When and where did you last eat out?" "What's
your favorite restaurant?"
2. Pre-teach: Present/review key vocabulary and structures.
3. Controlled practice : Drill-based activity based on the same
vocabulary.
4. Listening comprehension activity: Have students listen to a recording
of a customer ordering food from the waiter at a restaurant, and fill in
the missing information on a handout.
5. Freer speaking activity: practice listening comprehension and
speaking (i.e., role play in pairs with classmates switching between
customer and waiter.

There are numerous types of listening activities for the EFL classroom. This
section will provide general examples of activities that can be used to improve
listening skills. All activities should be adjusted by the teacher according to
student level.

Example Listening Activity 1 (Beginner to Lower-Intermediate level):

Observe, Listen, Match

  Beginner-level students identify simple descriptions in speech
 Students are shown a series of pictures
 Students describe each picture the best they can
 They listen to 4 different sentences while looking at one picture
 Students match the correct description with the right picture

Script 1:

1. The woman is sad.

2. The woman has blonde hair.
3. The woman is reading a magazine.
4. The woman is wearing a hat.

Script 2:

1. The woman is wearing a black shirt.

2. The woman is on the phone.
3. The woman is very upset.
4. The woman is holding a blue and green bag.
Example Listening Activity 2 (Intermediate level):

Observe, Predict, Listen

 Intermediate-level students predict what the listening material will be

about by looking at a series of pictures portraying different situations
 Students describe what they think is happening in each picture
 They listen to a series of pre-recorded conversations (no longer than 10
lines each) related to each picture
 Students match the conversation with the right picture
Scripts

Conversation A:

 Voice 1: Can I help you ma'am?

 Voice 2: Yes, I have a problem. It's about my order.
 Voice 1: Oh no! What’s the problem?
 Voice 2: This steak is overcooked. I asked for it to be cooked rare.
Conversation B:

 Voice 1: Excuse me, this seems to be stuck.

 Voice 2: Let me take a look at it.
 Voice 1: I think the strap is stuck between the seat.
 Voice 2: Not to worry, this happens once in a while. I’ll get it … aaand
there ya go!
 Voice 2: Oh great. Thank you very much.
 Voice 1: My pleasure!

Conversation C:

 Voice 1: Good afternoon sir, do you have any idea why I pulled you
over?
 Voice 2: No officer, I don’t actually. What’s the problem?
 Voice 1: Can I see your license and registration, sir?
 Voice 2: Sure, no problem…here you go.

Conversation D:

 Voice 1: Does this one look like it’s a good one to you?
 Voice 2: I think they are all good, Mom. Just grab any of them.
 Voice 1: This one feels a little bit too soft though, don’t ya think?

After students have successfully matched the pictures with the conversations,
provide scripts of some of the pre-recorded conversations with various parts
of sentences left blank. The object of this exercise is to have the students
listen to the recorded conversations again and fill in the blanks with what they
hear being said.
For example:

Conversation A:

 Voice 1: Can I ______ you ma’am?

 Voice 2: Yes, I have a problem. It’s ________ my order.
 Voice 1: Oh no! What’s the __________?
 Voice 2: This steak ___ overcooked. I asked for it to be cooked
_______.

Example Listening Activity 3 (Upper Intermediate - Advanced Level):

Pre-recorded Interview

 A pre-recorded TV or radio talk show interview is played for the class

 To increase the difficulty, at least one of the interview participants
should have a different accent from what students are used to hearing
in class
 Show the class the follow-up questions they will be given to answer
about the interview.

**The follow-up questions (based on the chosen interview) should

encourage the students to evaluate what is being said by the
interviewee and force them to develop descriptive responses, rather
than simple yes or no questions.**


o
o Students discuss what the interview will be about based on
the questions.
o Students watch the interview.
o The students take turns to orally answer the follow-up
questions.
o Provide students a list of challenging phrases and
vocabulary from the recording.
o Allow students to listen to the recording again.
o Students try and interpret the meanings of the phrases and
vocabulary using only context.
Other ideas for listening exercises:

Song lyrics

 Play a song once through for students.

 Have them discuss any words or phrases they recognize.
 Hand out to students a fill-in-the-blank version of the song lyrics.
 Have students try to guess what the song is about, having heard it only
once and without knowing the missing words.
 Play the song a second time. While it plays, students read along, filling
in the blanks the best they can.
 Song choice and number of replays can vary the difficulty of this
exercise for many different levels of students.

Example Song Lyrics:

Dave Matthews Band: "You and Me"

Poetry

Read a poem to students and have them complete a question-and-answer

worksheet that guides them through an analysis and evaluation of the poem.
Below is an example. Repeat the poem as many times as necessary for
students to answer the questions.
Example Poem:

At dawn they returned home

their soaky clothes torn
and approached the stove
their limbs marked by scratches
their legs full of wounds
but on their brows
there was not a sign of despair
The whole day and night just passed
they had to brave the horrendous flood
in the water all the time
between bloated carcasses
and tiny chips of tree barks
desperately looking for their son's
albino buffalo that was never found
They were born amidst hardship
and grew up without a sigh or a complaint
now they are in the kitchen, making
jokes while rolling their cigarette leaves

Latiff Othman: "In the Midst of Hardship"

Example Questions:

1. What does "soaky" mean?

2. Listen for adjectives and write them down while listening to the poem.
3. What do you think the phrase "bloated carcasses" means?
4. Which line conveys that they have been out for a long time?
5. What is the theme of the poem?
6. What do you think the phrase "albino buffalo" means?
These types of questions get students to start analyzing different forms of
language and hear vocabulary used in different contexts.

Stories

Predict the Ending – In this type of exercise students listen to the beginning of
a story, learning the characters, identifying the problem, listening to plot
development, and then formulating their own ending to provide a resolution.

Q&A – Giving a Q&A after reading a story confirms students' ability to pick out
important details (intensive listening) within the listening exercise.

Summarize - Having students summarize stories reinforces and confirms

comprehension of events and students' ability to understand the overall idea.

Telephone Message Game

The classic game of Telephone provides a fun way to practice relaying

information accurately via intensive listening. If completed successfully, the
original message can be understood after being passed along by every
student. Set up a proper reward for success to discourage horseplay!

Solve a Whodunit? Mystery

Students listen for the clues and specific details of an intriguing murder
mystery to build up a picture in their head. They must use critical thinking
skills to process the information and come up with the correct solution.
3.3.10 Using Video
With the evolution of technology, teachers are spoiled by the amount of
resources available for teaching listening - particularly via the internet. The
majority of the exercises discussed above can be designed around the
endless amount of video and audio samples available to us from sources such
as:

The use of video and audio will depend on the goal of the listening exercise
and the level of students. Both listening tools develop different listening skills.
For example, video listening exercises allow the students to see the
speakers' body actions, facial expressions, gestures and setting. with
audio clips, students must comprehend from intonation and content only.
Videos can be great teaching tools when used effectively. Here are some
suggestions to ensure video time is educational, meets objectives, and
engages students:

 Silent films and muted videos – Playing a video without sound forces
students to predict what is being discussed by observing facial
expression, body actions, and context. This develops and reinforces
their ability to incorporate non-verbal cues into their listening and
communication. Silent films are good materials because the actors
usually exaggerate their gestures and expressions. Muted videos can
be used by first watching without sound, and then watching a second
time with the sound to confirm or disconfirm students' predictions.

 Videos without the visual – The opposite of the last example.

Students listen to the audio only, and guess how many speakers there
are, predict where they are from by their accent, predict the
setting/environment, the weather, etc. Follow up with the visual and
compare students' predictions to the real thing.

 Videos with subtitles - Research has shown that English video

subtitles help EFL students significantly improve grammar, vocabulary,
listening skills, word recognition, and reading comprehension because
they can see the spellings of words and how they appear in sentences
while hearing how they are pronounced and absorbing the context in
which they are used.

 Pause & Predict – Show a video to the students. Right before

something crucial is about to happen, hit pause and have students
predict what will happen and/or what will be said next.

 Half Visual, Half Audio Game – Split the class in half or into pairs and
have one group of students watch a video while the other group can
only hear the audio. The 'blind' group describes the physical
appearance and setting based on what they hear.
Example of a video-based exercise:

Step 1: Lead in by demonstrating different facial expressions and body

language and have students guess your moods.

Step 2: Play a video clip with the sound off and have students watch the body
language (repeat once or twice)

Step 3: Ask the class:

 "Which one is probably the main character?"

 "What is their relationship like?"
 "Where is this taking place?"
 "What type of scenario is this?"
 "How do the characters feel right now?"

Step 4: Give the students a fill-in-the-blank script.

Step 5: Play the video with the sound on this time while students fill in the
blanks (repeat once if necessary).

Step 6: Play the video again with the sound on, instructing the students to
read along with their completed scripts.
3.4 TEACHING READING

3.4.1 Teaching Reading

Like listening, reading is a receptive skill. Reading offers many benefits for
EFL students besides the obvious ones. These include:

 Exposes students to ways of life, ideas and knowledge about the world
which may be different from those in their daily lives
 Leads to more highly-developed overall language skills
 Helps students learn new words and unconsciously absorb information
about how to use language more effectively
 Strengthens and builds new brain connections
 Improves concentration
 Relaxes the body and calms the mind
Reasons for Teaching Reading

Reading is used in nearly every setting: in school, at work, in research, in

everyday situations (restaurant menus, street signs), surfing the web, filling in
forms, instructions, application forms, and so on.

Proficiency in reading is strongly correlated with success in learning a second

language. Being able to read in English will enhance other EFL skills such as:
  Enhancing Vocabulary Knowledge - Understanding unfamiliar words
from context, exposure to how words are used in various contexts, and
visual recognition and memory of words are some of many positive
effects of reading.

 Understanding & Improving Writing – Sentence construction, proper

grammar and usage, correct spelling, correct punctuation, paragraph
development and transitions, correct capitalization, etc., can all be
improved by reading good models of English writing.

 Provoking Discussion – Good pieces of reading material can

stimulate the imagination and influence thought-provoking
conversations, interesting lessons in class, and more creative writing
ideas.

 Recognizing Idioms – Reading books can introduce students to

phrasal expressions and other idiomatic language that is used when
speaking.

 Pronunciation & Rhythm – Reading aloud can help students improve

their intonation and stress within sentences. Various reading exercises,
such as highlighting or capitalizing stressed words within a passage, are
an effective strategy to help develop students' speaking skills.

 Comprehension Speed & Productivity Increase – Studies show that

students who are taught different reading strategies are able to
comprehend more quickly and consume more information in less time.
This prepares students for the high volumes of research and
coursework material demanded of them at the collegiate level and at the
workplace.

Reading Sub-Skills
Reading utilizes sub-skills which can be developed and enhanced with
proper training. The sub-skills required depend on the purpose of the reading.
In our native language, we naturally utilize the following reading skills
depending on what and why we are reading:

 Scan – We scan a text when seeking specific information (reading

for detail) in an article, such as key words, dates, names, places
and/or other details, without reading every word.

For example: When looking through a telephone directory for

someone’s phone number, researching the definition of a word in the
dictionary, or looking for the departure time of the next train on a
timetable, we would quickly scan through to find the desired
information.
 Skim – We skim a text when we read it quickly in order to
understand the general idea ("to get the gist") without reading
every word of it.

For example: While sitting in the waiting room at the doctor’s office, one
picks up a magazine or newspaper and skims through various articles
inside, looking for an interesting one to read more
thoroughly. Skimming may also be performed while reading a text
such as an article or novel in detail when coming to a point that doesn’t
seem

substantially important to the overall meaning of the text, such as a long

landscape description in fiction or an insignificant comment made by a
random bystander within a news article. An employer
typically skims over an applicant’s resume while interviewing them,
rather than reading it word-for-word.
Intensive vs Extensive Reading

It is common for EFL learners to ignore the above-mentioned reading sub-

skills (which they use in their own native languages) and read intensively.
They try to understand every English word they read, regardless of the
reading goals.

 Intensive Reading – Reading each word of a sentence carefully

within a text, looking for specific information. It is not practical in
most real-world reading situations, but is useful for classroom
purposes. EFL teachers assign short, challenging texts for
students in order to introduce and reinforce vocabulary, sentence
construction, functional language, grammar points, and format.

For example: Students intensively read textbooks, retaining details, if

they expect their reading to be followed by comprehension questions.

 Extensive Reading – This is the type of reading that we do during

our leisure time. Extensive reading involves reading texts for
enjoyment and to understand deeper meanings and messages
within stories, articles, blogs, critiques, poetry, novels, or other
texts that we read by choice.

For example: Before going to sleep, or while lying in the park on a

sunny day, a lot of people like to read a few chapters from a novel or
maybe an in-depth magazine article for pleasure, in which case they are
performing extensive reading.
3.4.3 Intensive Reading vs.
Extensive Reading
See the chart below for details on the differences between the two types of
reading.
3.4.5 Teaching Vocabulary
via Reading
One of the most positive effects of reading is the natural learning, recognition,
and retention of new vocabulary. When teachers pre-teach vocabulary that
students encounter in their readings, there is a higher chance for retention.
Complete vocabulary comprehension involves knowing a word's meaning and
its function. Several factors complicate vocabulary comprehension because
many words in the English language:

 have more than one meaning

 have similar sounds to other words with different spellings and/or
meanings
 can be used differently in different contexts
  can have a different meaning when used metaphorically

Teaching Vocabulary via Reading

Full comprehension of vocabulary includes:

1. Knowing synonyms (words with similar meanings) and antonyms

(words with opposite meanings) of a word. For example:

 The boy was happy when he rode his new bike.

The boy was content when he rode his new bike. (synonym)
 She ran quickly into the house.
She ran slowly into the house. (antonym)

2. Recalling and using the word with correct meaning and form. For
example:

 Correct usage: I finished my assignment on time.

 Incorrect usage: The teacher didn’t assignment any homework today.
3. Being able to spell a word correctly

4. Knowing verb + preposition relationships. For example:

 account + for something/someone

 adjust + to something/someone
 approve + of something/someone
 depend + on something/someone
 disagree + with something/someone
 belong + to something/someone

As a lead-in to reading exercises, teachers utilize different strategies to clarify

unfamiliar words.

Start by generating a list of words that are unfamiliar to students in order to

discuss their meanings and function prior to commencing readings.

Defining Vocabulary

1. Definitions should consist of simple language that will be understood

by the level of the students
  Incorrect example: ‘arbitrary – contingent based solely upon one’s
discretion’
 Correct example: ‘arbitrary – determined by chance, not by necessity’

2. Give the proper meaning of the word as it is used in the text

 From text: The butcher weighed the meat on the scale.

 Incorrect meaning: ‘scale - thin plates protecting the skin of fish and
reptiles’
 Correct meaning: ‘scale - a machine for determining the weight of an
object’

3. Use the word in an example sentence that clearly shows its meaning

 Incorrect sentence: The bike is rusty.

 Correct sentence: The bike is rusty from sitting outside in the rain for
two years.

4. Show students how to correctly pronounce the words on the list and
drill them so they can be recognized when encountered in the text
5. Introduce synonyms, antonyms, and usage of the new vocabulary to
reinforce comprehension when encountered in the text

 Synonyms: ‘ecstatic – joyous, overjoyed, blissful’ (adjective)

 Antonyms: ‘ecstatic – depressed, apathetic, down’ (adjective)

6. During the reading exercise, point out how the vocabulary is used in
context. Afterwards, the understanding of the words can be further
reinforced through:

 Comprehension check questions:

Ex. In the story, who did the bus driver think was humorous? A: The
young boy

 Have students use the new words in their responses to reading

comprehension questions:
Ex. What did the bus driver think about the young boy? A: The bus
driver thought the young boy was humorous.

 Having students identify the new words' use and meaning in example
sentences:
Ex. The comedian made everyone in the audience laugh because of his
______________ personality. A: Humorous

7. During reading, when students encounter these words again, their

meanings and functions within different contexts will serve to solidify
their comprehension of the vocabulary.
Reading Levels

It is difficult for students to understand a text if there are too many unknown
words and sentence structures. When this happens, students become
disengaged, frustrated and demotivated. Teachers should choose reading
material that suits the skill level of their students, while using authentic texts
as much as possible.
Beginner to Intermediate Levels

For beginner to intermediate level students, authentic texts (i.e., texts written
for native speakers, not language-learners) with simple vocabulary and
sentence structures are hard to find.

One solution is to use children's books which are adapted to the level of
beginner and intermediate-level native-speaker readers.

Another solution is to use basic, authentic reading sources with short, simple,
text, such as:

 Posters
 Menus
 Brochures
 Advertisements
 Comic strips
 Classifieds
 Recipes
 etc.
These types of texts can be used for simple, structured reading exercises
paired with specific tasks.

Graded readers - books simplified for EFL

students - are recommended to encourage extensive reading outside of the
classroom. In class, when a teacher is available to explain and answer
questions, higher level texts can be used.

Upper-Intermediate to Advanced Levels

The more vocabulary and authentic English material students are exposed to,
the further they can progress towards reading texts that are more challenging
and more suited to extensive reading, such as:
  Novels
 Newspapers
 Magazines
 Blogs
 Reports
 Articles
 Poetry
 etc.

All these texts can be used for intensive or extensive reading and sub-skills
training exercises.
For successful encouragement of reading to students it is important never to
assign materials that are above the student's capabilities. Teachers must
always properly lead into reading exercises by introducing and discussing new
vocabulary and providing background information on the topic in order to
create and maintain interest.

Reading for pleasure is a big factor contributing to student success. Students

who develop extensive reading habits will benefit tremendously in the long run
over students who only read what is assigned to them.
3.4.7 Reading Activities
Reading builds on other language skills like speaking and writing. Reading
activities are a great way to combine these essential skills. Follow reading
texts with exercises that require spoken and written responses to gauge
student comprehension and maximize lesson efficiency.

Reading activities exist for a wide range of levels and can be found in
textbooks and graded readers. Other forms of reading that teachers can use
for reading activities include:

 Poetry/literature
 Instruction manuals
 Theater extracts
 Movie scripts
 Song lyrics
 Reading puzzles (scrambled stories)
 Novels
 Letters
 Critiques
 Classified ads

General Tips

 Read in short chunks, discussing main points before moving forward

 Call on different students frequently to make sure everyone is

participating in the reading

 Use leading questions to help weaker students with answers. Find a

healthy balance of open-ended and leading questions that suits your
 class mix.

 Different activities may be performed with the same text depending on

the level of students' reading abilities.

 With lower level classes, incorporate interactive activities, such as

giving students pictures of a sequence of events to put in order
according to the reading

 With lower level classes show pictures relevant to the reading and
discuss what is happening in them before commencing the reading

 Group reading is more effective than individual reading at lower levels

Below are some ideas for reading activities suitable for different levels of
students. Download them from myTEFL's library whenever you need some
fresh ideas.

Example Reading Activity 1 (Beginner to Intermediate Level):

Observe, Predict, Read

a. Students look at the various components of the text (almost any kind of
text should work), such as images, key words found in titles, and words
in bold letters.

b. Students discuss the meaning of each image, key word, and word in
bold letters

c. Students discuss what the text might be about

 d. Students guess the source of the text (magazine, newspaper, novel,
etc.) and what type of audience they think the text is written for
(children, teenagers, adults, etc.)

e. Students read the text together, piece by piece, and repeat to reinforce
comprehension

f. Choose texts that are not too difficult for students

g. Choose tasks that they can complete with proper instruction

h. Tasks should neither be too easy nor too challenging

Poster/Advertisement

a. Study the medium

b. Use the text for simple activities

 c. Provide intermediate level students with simplified post reading tasks so
that they do not become discouraged and lose interest

d. Provide a list of questions about the text and instruct them to try and
answer them with a partner

For example:

What words are in big letters?

Match the words to their related pictures.

How many nouns do you see? Verbs? Adjectives?

What is the purpose of the text?

e. Read the example text again with the class to reinforce understanding of
unfamiliar vocabulary in context and the main points of the text

*NOTE: Be sure to develop questions that are suitable for the level of
students being taught. Creating questions with multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank
with a word bank, matching, and/or true and false responses are better for
lower-level students than questions demanding open-ended responses and
fully-formed sentences.
Example Activity 2 (Intermediate Level):

Observe, Discuss, Predict, Read a Newspaper/Magazine/Internet Article

a. Discuss any new vocabulary

b. Discuss the titles and pictures to gain insight into the article

c. Ask students to predict what the article is about based on these clues

d. Give students confidence and prepare them for a directed, successful

reading by having them read the open-ended comprehension questions
before reading the article, so they have them in mind while reading:

- What is the main idea of this article?

- What is the problem?
- How is it being solved?
 e. At this point, have students read the article independently

f. After reading, have students try to complete the 3 comprehension

questions on their own

g. Monitor students by walking around the room and assisting those who
need help

h. When students have finished, quickly check answers to confirm

comprehension

i. Then, pass out a worksheet of vocabulary from the article with activities
such as matching words with meanings, filling in the blanks, etc., to reinforce
vocabulary recognition, comprehension, and appropriate usage

For example:

Matching

1. prevent a) to understand something clearly

2. realize b) to keep something from happening
3. creep c) to move slowly and carefully

Fill in the blanks

prevent predict creep

1. The boy was trying to _________ the cat from running outside by
shutting the door.
2. It is difficult to _________ what happened in the story because it ended
with a confusing twist.
 3. The robber had to ___________ through the house because the owners
were asleep.

j. After the vocabulary worksheets are done, break students into pairs

k. Have students choose ten words from the text that they think are difficult

l. Instruct them to use the words to create a dialogue

m. Students practice reading their dialogues aloud with their partners

n. Instruct each group to trade their dialogues with another group

o. At the end, each student stands in front of the class and acts out the new
dialogues

*NOTE: This sequence is a good example of how developing one skill

(reading) can be integrated with practicing the other skills of language
(speaking, writing, vocabulary).

Example Activity 3 (Intermediate - Advanced):

Listen, Predict, Record: Story Summarizing & Completion

 a. The teacher hands out photocopies of a short story

b. The class discusses the story and predicts what it will be about based on
the title and any imagery presented before reading it

Example short story:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------

Meeting Mike after 10 Years

“Last week I was in New York and I remembered that my friend Mike had
recently moved there. I looked up his name in the telephone book, called, but
got the answering machine. Luckily, I finally found him at work. He was gazing
at his computer screen when I strolled into the room. He looked like he had
just been crying. Mike’s father recently passed away and I know Mike always
looked up to him. On his computer screen, he was reminiscing with some old
photos, astonished at how much his dad looked like him when he was young!
I walked in and yelled “Look who it is!” When he raised his head, he didn’t
look very happy to see me. He just looked me up and down, and said “Oh,
hey John,” and we shook hands.

After ten years of not seeing him, Mike didn't look any older. In fact, he looked
as if he was still in his twenties! I looked him straight in the eye and said,
"Look Mike, I’m in town for a couple days. How about we grab some food and
drinks later on and catch up?" He hesitated before responding, and then told
me he has been on the lookout for a new apartment, so he might have to visit
one tonight. Looking over at the computer screen, I noticed a picture of his
mom with his dad. "I heard about your dad, Mike. I’m really sorry. How are
you holding up?" I said. His eyes filled up with tears and he looked away,
ashamed, and covered his face. Then he took a deep breath and said “Alright
John, what do you say we go grab a coffee before I go to this visit?”
We went to Starbucks and talked for a while, when a beautiful woman walked
in the door and Mike stopped in the middle of his sentence with a look of
amazement on his face…”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------

c. The teacher divides the story into sections, assigning one section to each
student

d. Students read their sections individually, writing down any unfamiliar

vocabulary they come across

e. Students define the unfamiliar vocabulary using contextual clues; they

may use a dictionary only if necessary

f. Students present and discuss new vocabulary as a class

g. Students are given a minute to study their section and create a 1-2
sentence summary

h. The class presents their summaries in correct sequence

i. Have students orally answer comprehension-related questions such as:

1. Where does the story take place?

2. How did Mike feel when the narrator found him?
3. Who recently died in Mike’s life?
4. Who was in the picture on Mike’s computer screen?
5. List all the different ways in which "look" was used in the story.
6. How does the meaning of "look" change when it is used with other
words before and after it in an expression?
7. What does it mean when it says ‘He hesitated…’?
8. Find a synonym of "looking" in the story.
J. students read the story again and individually write out a 250 word ending
3.4.9 Encouraging
Extensive Reading

Throughout this section, we have emphasized the benefits of reading in terms

of improving vocabulary, language construction, functions, and more. The
more students read, the more they gain invaluable exposure to the English
language. Extensive reading is one of the best habits teachers can instill in
students. It is during this type of reading that students willfully ingest large
quantities of text over extended periods of time.

Teachers should consider the following when encouraging reading:

 Access – Introduce attractive reading materials and direct students to
where they can obtain them. Libraries, websites, book stores,
museums, newsstands, and coffee shops provide vast collections of
reading material for students to pick and choose from. Almost every
genre or interest has a publication dedicated to it both online and offline,
including magazine articles about hobbies, sports, jobs, relationships,
art, movies, pets, music, travel, theater, and anything you can conceive
of. The more options available for students, the more likely they will pick
up extensive reading.

 Choice – Extensive reading should be a pleasurable activity. Teachers

guide students based on their hobbies and interests, leaving the final
choice to students, because they will be more enthusiastic about what
they choose. Recommended texts shouldn’t be above the student’s
reading level as they could demotivate and discourage the student from
reading.
  Feedback – Students should be given opportunities to express their
feelings and general thoughts about what they read. This can be done
through discussion or by allocating class time for students to write freely
about anything they read on their own. Do not grade or correct the
writing or discussion so as not to take away from the pleasure of
reading by turning it into an assessment of ability.

 Time – Students’ time is often monopolized by extracurricular activities,

family obligations, and other commitments outside of school. They may
find it difficult to read extensively outside of class. If possible, teachers
may provide time for students to read freely during class, even if it's only
for 10 minutes.

It’s a good habit to read in front of students during break time, and be happy
to discuss and share with students. This provides a role model, conveying
the pleasure and attractiveness of reading.
3.5 TEACHING WRITING

3.5.1 Teaching Writing

Writing is a more difficult language skill to teach, mainly due to the additional
time students need to compose texts. Marking, correcting and providing
feedback on extensive writing exercises is also time-intensive.

In this section, we will discuss various types of writing, common issues, errors,
suggested writing exercises, essay writing, corrections, and feedback.

Reasons for Writing

Writing encompasses a large majority of how we communicate on a daily

basis in work, school, and social environments. Different students will have
different motivations and scenarios in which they need to utilize writing.

Immigrants to English speaking countries will need writing skills in order to

assimilate and function in their new homes. This includes making applications
for services (bank accounts, utilities, insurance), job-searching (resumes,
application forms), making queries (online classifieds, status of applications),
and for personal reasons (social media, email with new community, writing an
opinion letter or response to news articles).

Students who will be attending high school or university abroad will require
writing skills for academic purposes as well as daily living.

Students employed in multinationals, or international working

environments will require writing skills for business communications.
Students who are studying English for tourism purposes may need to fill in
customs forms, book hotels online, book flights, and make other inquiries and
bookings (i.e., a day package to the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, transportation, and
lunch).

The challenge presented by the time-consuming nature of writing is also one

of its benefits for EFL; that is, the time students have to take to think,
structure, and compose a text is highly beneficial to English learners. When
writing, students analyze the processes of the language, activate vocabulary,
and take time to generate responses, as opposed to speaking, when
responses must be quick and fluid at the sacrifice of accuracy and depth in
the process.

Types of Writing

Personal Writing

We write to personally communicate in various forms, including:

  Emails
 Personal letters
 Text messages
 Letters of complaint
 Diaries or journals
 Postcards
 Shopping or ‘To Do’ lists
 Blogs
 Online forums
 Greeting cards (birthday, Christmas, thank you, etc.)
 Social networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
 Pen pals
 Event invitations

Work-Related Writing

Writing is a basic skill required and used in the workplace. Writing for work
may include:
  Emails
 Reports
 Memos
 Letters
 Faxes
 Website content
 Marketing brochures/flyers/pamphlets
 Job applications
 CVs and Resumes
 Cover letters
 Product order forms
 Inventory lists
 Contracts
 Daily logs
 Patient examination and observation notes for health care
 Lesson plans, curriculums, report cards, corrections, and rules in
education
 Social networking

There are many daily tasks which require writing in a corporate environment
and a majority of companies in English-speaking countries want their
employees to have basic English writing skills before hiring them.
Multinationals often require that their satellite offices and employees
communicate in written English with headquarters. International trade offices
and business development managers must be able to communicate in English
in the written form as persuasively as possible!
There are some working environments in which people rarely need to write.
Adult students who work in environments like these may not have much
writing experience in their L1 and will need additional attention and support
with English writing.

Academic Writing
Some students take EFL classes to ready themselves for general academic
studies in English. This might include high-school students intending to
complete a year or two of public school in the country where they plan to
attend university. It could be students who will start their post-secondary
studies overseas. Some mature students choose to complete a master's
degree overseas. These students more than others will need to be able to
write comprehensively in the new language, including:

 Essays
 Research papers
 Theses
 Exam questions
 Hand-outs
 Presentations
 Reading comprehension responses
 Introductions
 Critiques
 Critical writing
 Publications
 Short stories
 Book reports

Academic writing tends to be held to a higher standard than personal and

business writing. Besides basic content, students must demonstrate
proficiency with format, structure, logical analysis, flow, vocabulary choice,
and referencing. Specialized writing courses are highly recommended for
students with an academic future in English. General EFL courses will not
cover the scope and depth of writing required for their needs.

Writing Challenges & Errors

Run-on sentences

Some EFL students have a tendency to write endless sentences with little or
no punctuation. Demonstrate the use of appropriate punctuation, breaking
down long sentences into shorter sentences, and using conjunction words
(and, but, or, while, because, since, etc.). A presentation on syntax which
includes simple, compound and complex sentences will help students
understand what lengths are acceptable in English writing.

Redundancy

Due to limited vocabulary, students may use the same words multiple times
within a short paragraph. Here are a couple of steps teachers can take to
improve this:
First, whenever presenting a new word, make it a habit to provide two
synonyms whenever possible. Include the synonyms throughout the lesson
and encourage students to use them when completing exercises.

Secondly, encourage students to use a thesaurus when working on writing

blocks of text. They won’t spend time trying to remember the new words they
use, but they will be exposed to them, and with enough repetition there is a
high chance the new words will be retained.

Mixing English with their Native Tongue

As an EFL teacher, you will frequently encounter sentences like the following:
"You me miss when you will at vacation”. This occurs when a student mimics
the grammar patterns and structure of his/her native language while
attempting to translate into English.

Translating between languages is the main culprit, followed by a lack of

controlled practice of the relevant grammar structures. Encourage students
to discard the habit of translation and start “thinking” in English. This will take
a long time, but will result in stronger English language abilities in all aspects.
As a teacher, ensure students have learned and practiced relevant grammar
structures before assigning them freer writing assignments.

Grammar Misuse

The most common error in the EFL classroom is grammar confusion. When
presenting new grammar structures, compare and contrast them with those
previously learned so students start building a grammar "map" in their minds.

Proper grammar usage is difficult. Accept that students will make plenty of
mistakes throughout classes. One of the best ways to train students to
recognize and select appropriate grammar is through extensive reading.
Students internalize the language through repeated exposure and correct
usage over a long period of time.
3.5.3 Writing Sub Skills

The fundamental writing sub-skills include:

 Forming letters
 Writing legibly
 Spelling
 Punctuation
 Capitalization
 Forming simple sentences with correct grammar
 Combining sentences with conjunction words
 Correct vocabulary usage

Further training involves developing refinement and flow:

 Organizing ideas and content

 Avoiding redundancy and repetition
 Transitions
 Layout and style
 Revising and polishing
 Proofreading, editing, and correcting mistakes
Exercises to Develop & Practice Sub-skills

The following are examples of activities teachers can use to train and develop
writing sub-skills:

Beginner Levels

Forming letters, writing legibly, spelling, punctuation, capitalization

  Copying letters and words in a workbook or on worksheets
 Correctly rewriting a text which is missing all punctuation and
capitalization
 Correctly rewriting a text which has erroneous punctuation and
capitalization
 Family tree worksheet
 Having students use notebooks with lined handwriting paper instead of
traditional ones
 Spelling competitions
 Correcting worksheets with misspelled words
 Unscrambling letters to create correct words
 Worksheets in which students determine if capitalization is needed or
not

Pre-Intermediate Levels

Forming sentences, combining sentences, correct grammar and

vocabulary usage

 Correcting worksheets with scrambled sentences

 Correcting simple sentences with erroneous grammar
 Underline the incomplete sentences from the provided text
 Fill-in-the-blank worksheets for vocabulary usage
 Fill-in-the-blank worksheets for conjunctions (i.e., I like cake, _____ I
like cookies more. [but])
 Worksheets for identifying parts of speech (i.e., The cook burnt the
food. [verb])
 Fill-in-the-blank worksheets for grammar tense conjugation (i.e., I
________ (go - past simple) to the movies, yesterday. [went])
 Combine groups of clauses using conjunction words (ie. Bob walked his
dog. He walked it in the park. It was a sunny day. >> Bob walked his
dog in the park on a sunny day.)
Intermediate Levels

Organizing ideas and content, avoiding redundancy and repetition,

transitions

 Re-write a short text, inserting pronouns (i.e., he, she, they, it, etc.)
where names are repeated in excess.

For example:

"Bob walked to the store. Bob saw his friend Jill in front of the store. Jill was in
a rush and couldn't talk to Bob for long. So, Bob walked to the park, where
Bob met his brother Dave. Dave was walking his dog, and Bob and Dave
walked and talked together for a bit with Dave's dog. Later, while Bob was
walking home, Bob saw some garbage on the road, picked the garbage up,
and threw the garbage in a trash can."


o "He" or "she" can be used to replace "Bob", "Jill" and/or "Dave"
o "they" can be used to replace "Bob and Dave"
o "it" can be used to replace "store" and/or "garbage"

 Fill-in-the-blank text for understanding the layout of a cover letter:

provide a cover letter that has different parts missing (i.e., greeting,
application information, skill summary, etc.), for the students to fill in.

 Have students identify where paragraph breaks should be by providing

texts that have three to four paragraphs strung together. Students
identify and underline the transitions used by the author.

 Worksheets for identifying redundancy in phrases and revising them to

be more concise.
For example:

Cross off the redundant words in the following phrases:

1. I completely finished my homework this weekend.

2. My boss didn't give me enough advance notice regarding the project.
3. Many uneducated citizens who have never attended school continue to
complain about the current state of the education system.
4. Mike wakes up at 6:00 a.m. in the morning every day.
5. The cosmetics company offers a free gift to customers who purchase
the perfume set.
6. John used the bug spray to kill the cockroaches dead.
7. Never before has a movie had as big an opening as "The Avengers".

Advanced Levels

Manipulating layout and style to create appropriate forms of writing, use

of revisions and multiple drafts to polish, proofreading, editing, and
correcting mistakes

 Provide students with different types of letters to sort according to type:

formal and informal. Have students decide which are written for
personal reasons and which are written for formal reasons (academic,
trade, services, etc.).

 Discuss which characteristics differentiate formal from informal. Have

students seek differences between the two by drawing a comparison
chart on the board.

For example:
  Address - business address, private address, or none at all?
 Greeting - formal or informal?
 Style of letter - casual or purposeful?
 What is the message?
 How does the letter end?

 Next, ask the students what types of letters they might write and list
them on the board:

For example:

 Writing to close friends

 Letters to new acquaintances
 Memos to coworkers
 Cover letters to academic committees
 Information requests to a tour provider
 Letters of complaint
 Cover letters for a job

Students decide what category each type falls into - formal or informal?

Next, have students practice writing different types of letters.

  Practice writing short stories in stages:

Create a setting
Create main characters
Create a main theme
Create a central issue
Create the rising action
Create the climax
Create the resolution
Put it together
Polish it

 Peer-review by breaking the class into pairs and have them exchange
writing assignments with each other to check for specific errors.
Teachers provide a checklist as a guideline for students to use.
Depending on the assignment, the checklist may contain items such as
spelling, verb tense, coherent organization, logical flow, creativity,
appropriate structure, transitions, etc.
3.5.5 Writing Activities to
Develop Language
Writing is a great way to practice and reinforce the language learned in class.
The ability for students to take their time and carefully consider their
responses often results in higher accuracy and better long term retention.

The following language items can be practiced using focused writing activities:

 Grammar tenses including


o Simple and past continuous
o Passive
o Future perfect and future continuous
o Present perfect and present perfect continuous

 Sentence Structure


o Basic Clause Structure
o Phrases
o Clause Types (dependent vs. independent)
o Sentence Types (statement, command, question, exclamation)
o Giving advice
  Vocabulary/Lexis


o Comparative adjectives
o Superlative adjectives
o Modal verbs
o Synonyms/Antonyms
o Grouping Nouns

Writing Tasks to Practice Specific Language

Objective: Practice using the past simple tense

 Have students write about what they did yesterday

Objective: To practice using the future simple tense

 Students write an article about what they think the future will be like in
50 years: "We will have cars that can fly," "Cars won’t be able to go
underwater," "We will have planes that go to the moon," etc.

Objective: Practice using the present progressive tense

  Have students complete a fill-in-the-blank worksheet in which they
choose between using present progressive or simple present.

For example:

Conjugate each verb into the correct tense (simple present or present
progressive).

1. Quiet please! I (write) ____________ my homework. [am writing]

2. Every Sunday we (go) ________________ to see my grandparents.
[go]
3. She often (go) _____________ shopping. [goes]
4. Look! He (leave) ____________ the house. [is leaving]
5. We (play) _______________ basketball at the moment. [are playing]
6. Every day, she (walk) _____________ to work. [walks]
7. I (not / do) ________________ anything at the moment. [am not doing]

Objective: Practice superlative and comparative adjectives

 Have students write a short passage comparing 3 different

superheroes: "Superman is the strongest superhero. He has the biggest
muscles. He is faster than Spider-man and tougher than Batman," etc.

To simplify the exercise, teachers can provide a worksheet with guiding

sentences.

‘Superman is ____________ superhero. He is __________ than

Spider-man.’

Objective: To practice and review lexis

 To review the vocabulary covered in a unit, students make lists of words
related to the topic, such as "objects you find in the kitchen." A handout
with a word jumble can make it easier and more fun:

 feikn - knife
 rfko
 psono
 hisd
 atleb
 acropbsud
 lwob
 nsik
 irrreegratfo
 etc.
3.5.7 Example Writing
Activities

Beginner-Level Writing Activities

When teaching grammar patterns to beginner-level students, the use of

visuals is an effective strategy to communicate sentence structures.

Example Beginner Activity #1

Objective: Increase essential lexis knowledge, practice writing simple

words, numbers, and times.

a) Lead-in:

Demonstrate telling time by drawing a clock and writing related vocabulary on

the board

 clock, hour hand, minute hand

  second, minute, hour

Present vocabulary used in the exercise

 Numbers one to twelve, spelled out next to their numeric symbols

 Numbers fifteen, thirty, and forty-five
 o’clock, half past, quarter past, quarter to, past, to

Demonstrate how to read time by writing plenty of examples on the board

 It’s 4:45 – It’s four forty-five / It’s a quarter to five

 It’s 8:00 – It’s eight o’clock
 It’s 6:30 – It’s six thirty / It’s half past six

Ask concept check questions

b) Drills

 Conduct two minutes of choral and individual drills

c) Pass out the following worksheets

 Model the first few answers together on the board

 Ask comprehension check questions

Worksheet
Section 1

1) It’s 9:15 It’s a quarter past nine .

2) It’s 6:45 It’s a quarter to seven .
 3) It’s 1:00 It’s one o’clock .
4) It’s 4:30 It’s half past four .
5) It’s 2:15 ______________________________.
6) It’s 9:45 ______________________________.
7) It’s 8:00 ______________________________.
8) It’s 5:30 ______________________________.
9) It’s 7:45 ______________________________.
10) It’s 4:30 _______________________________.

Worksheet
Section 2

1) It’s a quarter past nine It’s nine fifteen .

2) It’s a quarter to ten It’s nine forty-five .
3) It’s half past four It’s four thirty .
4) It’s a quarter to six .
5) It’s half past five .
6) It’s a quarter past three .
7) It’s a quarter past two .
8) It’s a quarter to seven .
9) It’s a quarter to eight .

Worksheet
 Section 3

1) It’s 1:35 It’s one thirty-five .

2) It’s 10:15 ____________________________.

3) It’s 3:07 _____________________________.

4) It’s 5:19 _____________________________.

5) It’s 8:32 _____________________________.

d) Break students into pairs and have them work on the worksheets
together

e) During the activity, monitor each pair, noting errors, and offering
assistance.

Example Beginner Activity #2

Objective: Practice sentence structure

a) Lead-in

 Use magnets to stick the pre-printed components of a sentence to the

board (subject, simple predicate, article, indirect object, etc.)

 Demonstrate how to organize the components to make a proper

sentence

 Then label the different components of each sentence in different

colors
 Discuss the meaning of any vocabulary used in the exercise:
 student = person who learns in a school (YOU!) ☺
 teacher = person who teaches in a school (ME!) ☺

 Ask CCQs:


o Teacher: ‘I’ is followed by ‘am.’ ‘You’ is followed by what?
o Students: Are!
o Teacher: He/She/It?
o Students: Is!
o Teacher: We?
o Students: Are!
o Teacher: They?
o Students: Are!

1. Break students into pairs or groups

2. Pass out cut-up sentences, instructing students to put them in order and
raise their hands when finished.

Example sentences:
 3. Have different groups stick their sentences up on the board to present
to the class.

4. After sticking them to the board, they should label the different
components in different colors as the teacher did in the demonstration
(subject, verb, article, indirect object)

5. During the activity, the teacher should be monitoring each group,

ensuring each student participates, and offering any assistance where
needed.

As students progress, this activity can be adjusted by cutting up sentences

within a paragraph and having students put sentences in the proper
sequence.

Other variations on this activity can be made at the discretion of the teacher to
increase the level of difficulty and/or meet specific needs. For example:

 Sentence Scramble - Remove one component of the sentence (i.e.,

verb, subject, noun) and instruct students that there will be one part of
 the sentence they will need to fill in themselves

 Paragraph Scramble - Include one sentence that does not belong with
the others in a paragraph and instruct students to identify and remove
which one does not belong.

 Listing - Have students make lists of words relating to the topic of the
scrambled sentence or paragraph they were given. For example, if
sports is the topic, students make a list of everything they know about
sports. Lists can be made in single words and/or full sentences, based
on students' level of proficiency.

Intermediate Level Writing Activities

Example Intermediate Activity #1

Objective: Practice identifying verb tenses and using the past tense

a) Lead-in

 Present and define any unfamiliar vocabulary from the text to be used
 Provide students with a model sentence in the present tense

"Kyle lives in San Diego."

 Point out usage of the tense in the text and demonstrate how it can be
changed

"Kyle lived in San Diego."

 Complete a few more examples together on the board

  Ask concept check questions

b) Handout

 Hand out a worksheet with a couple of short passages in the present

tense

For example:

"The sun is bright and the cattle graze in the field. The
farmer finishes his breakfast and puts on his boots. His
children get ready for school as his wife takes a shower
and prepares their lunch boxes. It is the first day of school."

c) Transform

 Have students convert the passages into the past tense

"The sun was bright and the cattle grazed in the field. The
farmer finished his breakfast and put on his boots. His
children got ready for school as his wife took a shower
and prepared their lunch boxes. It was the first day of school."

d) During the activity, the teacher monitors progress and notes errors

This activity can be modified and recycled in many different ways, including:

 Using different tenses

 Leaving the verbs out and providing a word bank for students to select
from
 Leaving the verbs blank and having students come up with their own
 Removing articles (the, a, an) and having students add those while
transforming verbs
  Having students recreate a similar text using only the verbs

Example Intermediate Activity #2

Objective: Practice functional writing, imperative sentences,

and vocabulary

a) Lead-in

 Teach the lexis, phrasal terminology, and positional vocabulary used in

giving directions, as well as landmarks that will be used:

 turn
 traffic light
 corner
 intersection
  block
 gas station
 school
 police station
 train tracks
 bridge
 'At the end...'
 'On the right...'
 'Take a left/right'

b) Draw or stick up a map of a town on the board

 Point out and note the various landmarks on the map

 Orally practice a few directions with students
 Write an example on the board, incorporating landmarks into the
directions
 Have students take turns coming to the board to help write a second
one
 Ask concept check questions

c) Break students into pairs

  Give each pair of students a photocopy of the map and a list of 2
starting points and destinations
 The pairs split up the directions between themselves (1 each)

d) Writing

 Students write down the directions for their given scenario, following the
model on the board
 They do not show the directions to their partner

e) Reading

 Students read their directions out loud to their partner

 Partners follow the oral directions to locate the final destination
 Pairs switch roles

f) During the activity, the teacher monitors progress, notes errors, and
ensures only English is used

Intermediate-Advanced Level Writing Activities

Once students possess sufficient vocabulary and are able to form sentences
to express ideas and feelings in their writing, implement activities that provoke
students’ reactions and responses to different types of texts or other stimuli,
including:
  Letters
 Opinion articles
 Films
 Art
 Photography
 Poetry
 Music
 Sounds
 etc.

Example Intermediate-Advanced Activity

Objective: Students identify and create similes and metaphors

a) Lead-in

 Read an example text of a descriptive narrative containing a variety of

analogies - similes and metaphors
 Define "analogy:" When you say one thing is something else.

For example:
 “I was a rock last night.” (you were not really a rock → analogy)

“You're like a camel because you drink so much water.” (you are
not really a camel → analogy)

 Discuss the two types of analogies:

Similes use the words “like” or “as”:

“My mom is like a saint.”

“I’m as hungry as a bear!”

Metaphors do not use “like” or “as”:

“Time is a thief.”

“This movie is garbage.”

Example Intermediate-Advanced Activity - Continued

b) Identify analogies

 Students pick out all the similes and metaphors from the text
 They write them on the board and discuss their meanings

Similes:
“They were as busy as bees.” (They were working hard and fast)

“The woman was as blind as a bat.” (The woman cannot see well)

“She ate like a bird.” (She took very small bites and ate a small quantity)

Metaphors:

“It was a rollercoaster of emotions.” (My emotions were intense and would
often change quickly and unexpectedly)

“Her home was a prison.” (She was not able to leave the house)

“She was a rock in the family.” (She was a strong and stable person in her
family)

c) Demonstrate

 Post a picture (i.e., a detailed landscape painting) on the board and use
similes and metaphors to create descriptions on the board.

For example:


o “The blue is as deep as the ocean.” (simile)
o “The yellows are like sunflowers under the morning sun.” (simile)
o “The trees are skyscrapers in a city of flowers.” (metaphor)

d) Writing

 Display a few different pictures and have students write down a

metaphor and a simile for each one
  When they finish writing, students exchange papers with a partner for
proofreading

Other Effective Writing Exercises

 Dictation - Have students write what the teacher slowly reads out loud.
This is especially useful for vocabulary retention.

 Collaborative writing - Create a letter or story on the board in which

each sentence is created by a different student.

 Poetry - Rhyming words and acrostic poems (each line starts with the
letters of the theme word written vertically) can be fun and allow
students to express themselves in ways they cannot through other
forms of writing.

 Fake news - Use a short newspaper article as a model, and have

students write an imaginary news story with an appropriate title.

 Simulated email interview - Students take part in mock email

interviews in class. Pairs communicate by writing their questions and
responses to each other on paper.

 Letters - Provide students with different customer service scenarios and

outcomes. Students follow up on the scenario by writing letters of
complaint or thank you letters.
3.5.9 Essays
Essays are a cornerstone of writing in the English language, especially in
academic environments. They are a text of organized paragraphs attempting
to attract, persuade, inform, and support conclusions.

Good essay-writing is a complex task even for native speakers. For EFL
students, the essay writing process needs to be simplified by assigning
shorter lengths, simpler topics, and less rigorous content requirements. The
goal is for students to learn the format and logical progression of essays. This
can be done through the introduction of content guides, modeling, and essay-
writing checklists.

Form and Content Guide

Standard essays begin with an introduction, which is followed by a body of

supporting ideas, and end with conclusions:

Introduction – Generally one paragraph in which the writer introduces the

topic, for EFL students, 1-2 sentences may suffice
The content of the introduction often includes:

 A statement of the topic

 Items of interest about the topic
 The main point or argument (thesis)
 A summary of the main arguments in support of the thesis

Body – Usually broken down into multiple paragraphs which support the
thesis.

The content of the body includes:

 Pros and cons, facts, and interpretations which support the thesis
 An expansion of the points mentioned in the introduction
 A structure within each paragraph: each paragraph should begin by
introducing its topic and end with a concluding sentence for that topic
that links it seamlessly to the next paragraph

A realistic content guide for EFL students can include specific

instructions for each paragraph, deviating from the traditional critical
essay format. For example:

o A short story with three paragraphs: 1) Introduce characters in the

beginning paragraph; 2) Describe what the characters do or what
problem they have in the second paragraph; 3) Conclude with how the
characters resolve the problem in the final paragraph.
o A comparative text: compare two different superheroes in four
paragraphs: 1) Introduce who is being compared; 2) List facts and
 interpretations about how they are the same, 3) List facts and
interpretations about how they are different, 4) Give a conclusion, which
can include personal opinions.
o A personal letter to a friend: 1) After a friendly introduction, give
reasons for writing the letter; 2) Share details about recent life news and
events, 3) Conclusion about future events, such as when they will see
each other next, making plans, and offering warm salutations.

Conclusion – The last paragraph of the essay in which the main points are
summed up.

The content of the conclusion includes:

 A summary of the main arguments

 Reiteration of the thesis

The content requirements should be simplified according to the class

level by making assignments shorter, using less complex topics, etc.

Modeling an Essay

A great way to introduce essay writing to students is through model essays.

The teacher provides an example and breaks it down into smaller components
for the class. The printed essay might be formatted as follows:
  Thesis in bold
 Topic sentences in italics
 Main points underlined

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Model Essay Example

"Cats are more loyal to their owners than dogs." That argument may contain
some truth, but, on the other hand, dogs are considered "man’s best friend."
Many cat-owners, however, might in turn claim that their cat is their best
friend. Personal bias aside, cats are overall better house pets than dogs.

First of all, people grow attached to the friendliness of cats. Cats display love
when they cuddle up next to you and purr when they want to be petted. It’s
better than a dog drooling all over your leg, is it not? Even when cats are not
acting affectionate, they tend to be full of life, chasing just about anything that
is dangling from a string. People think that cats cannot be trained, but they’re
wrong. Similar to dogs, a cat can be trained with treats and punishment to
behave in a certain manner, and/or to perform tricks. Especially when training
them to use their litter box! Cats rarely will go to the bathroom anywhere else.
When a cat births kittens, the mother will teach them to use the litter box! How
convenient is that?

In addition, cats are more polite house pets than dogs. In comparison with
dogs, cats do not bark, or even meow, every time the postman comes to
deliver the mail. Cats are normally very quiet and calm all the time.
Although cats have claws, they are not as dangerous or destructive as
dogs. Giving them something to scratch is usually sufficient to avoid their
clawing up the furniture, whereas dogs like to chew anything they can get their
paws on. In the worst case scenario, when a cat does claw furniture, their
claws can be trimmed with a cat nail clipper.
Last but not least, cats are low-maintenance. Want to take a weekend
vacation without having to worry about leaving the house pet at home? Well,
with cats, that’s easy! They don’t have to be walked, they can play around the
house for exercise, and they don’t need to be let outside to go to the bathroom
since they go in the litter box, which is quick and easy to clean. In
addition, cats also meticulously groom themselves on a regular basis, so
owners rarely have to bathe or clean them. So, cats can be left alone for days
and entertain themselves until their owners return.

In conclusion, cats are better house pets than dogs. They are friendly, quiet,
and low maintenance - perfect for the animal lover in you!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Discuss the following questions with students to deconstruct the model essay:

i. What is this essay about?

ii. What is the interesting statement that introduces this essay?
iii. What is the main idea (thesis)?
iv. What is the main point of paragraph 1?

What details support this point?

 a)
 b)
 c)

v. What is the main point of paragraph 2?

What details support this point?

  a)
 b)
 c)

vi. What is the main point of paragraph 3?

What details support this point?

 a)
 b)
 c)

vii. What does the author do in the final paragraph?

Using the answers and labeled model above, students have a guide for how
their essays should be structured (form), what components each paragraph
should include (content) and in what sequence (organization). In this
approach, students mimic the model by reading it, analyzing it, and
then replacing its content - thesis, body, and conclusion - with their own.
3.5.11 Correcting Writing
and Feedback
While corrections and feedback are an essential part of the EFL writing
curriculum, the topic of how and when to correct writing assignments remains
controversial, and there isn’t one agreed-upon method. We advocate a
moderate approach, avoiding over-authoritarian approaches.

When correcting, the objective is to:

 Improve student writing proficiency

 Set the level of expectations
 Maintain student motivation

An authoritarian approach would entail correcting or marking all surface

errors, including:

 Grammatical mistakes
 Spelling errors
 Punctuation errors
 Sentence structure
 Capitalization
  Incorrect paragraph breaks
 Unorganized content

Some teachers might even instruct students to re-write all the corrections on a
separate paper.

Another inappropriate feedback method is to mark errors without writing any

explanation or feedback. These teachers expect the students to research the
errors and figure out how to correct them on their own.

Why these approaches don’t work!

 They overemphasize the negative aspects of students' work – Just

as we don't interrupt a student during a speaking exercise to correct
every mistake in speech, we don't over-correct in writing. A paper
covered in red ink sends a discouraging message to EFL students and
will have a demotivating effect.

 Students passively copy the corrections without studying what

they did wrong – Some students do not read the teacher's feedback
detailing their mistakes, causing the corrections to be a waste of time
and effort.

 Students resort to guesswork when rewriting – When no directions

or instructions are provided, students may have no choice but to guess
how to correct their mistakes.

 Students fail to learn from their mistakes – Students' attention is

diverted to superficial mistakes rather than errors related to the goals of
the exercise.
Positive/Appropriate Approaches

It is our job as teachers to inform students of their mistakes so they can

improve. Teachers should aim for balance between the focus on negative
aspects of mistakes, the positive effects of encouragement, and making
feedback appropriate for each individual student. To do this, teachers use the
following strategies to guide them:

 Specify goals of assignments - One way to avoid the negative

outcomes of over-correcting surface errors is to choose one part of
language to correct. Let students know these details, so that they can
focus on making sure that that aspect of their work is correct. When
marking, stick to correcting the errors related to the goals of the task.

 Consistency – Teachers should make sure they are using a standard

set of written symbols and markings when making direct or indirect
corrections to send a clear, consistent message to students.

 Conferences – Meeting with students one-on-one to discuss feedback

and clarify the comments made on their writing can eliminate a lot of
confusion and ensure that students understand how to improve from
their mistakes and are using the feedback constructively.

 Content Feedback – Give feedback on the content of students' writing,

not just structural issues. This lets students know you are paying
attention to the actual message they are trying to get across.

 Positive Feedback – Not all of the teachers’ comments have to revolve

around what students do wrong. It is encouraging for students to know
what they are doing right too! Letting them know what they are doing
right allows them to feel a sense of improvement and value in their
writing.
Sample Writing with Corrections and Feedback

Example: Corrected Essay #1:

*This writing assignment is meant to focus on student usage of the present

perfect tense and the future simple tense. Therefore, the corrections focus on
the usage of these grammar items.
 Feedback

"Good essay! I agree with you; people do need to stop wasting money and
start helping each other to save the Earth!"
Grammar reminder:

 When we talk about things that happened in the past, we can say:

 “Subject + has/have + past participle”

Example:

 I have seen the unfortunate African children.

 You have bought water bottles before.
 He/She has increased global warming with his/her waste.
 We have traveled to Africa in previous years.
 They have died of starvation for years.

When we talk about something that is going to happen in the future, we say:

 “Subject + will + verb” OR “Subject + am/is/are + going to + verb”

Example:

 African children will die of starvation if we don’t help.

 The Earth’s temperature is going to increase.

Next time, don’t forget to carefully proofread and check for mistakes!
Example Corrected Essay #2
The learning objective of the writing assignment in Example #2 was to
practice developing and organizing appropriate content to present an
argument and support it with details in a clear manner, while Example #1 was
to test the accuracy of using the present perfect tense and future simple
tense correctly in an argumentative essay format.