Activity-based lessons

By the end of this session you will be able to answer these questions:
 What is an activity-based lesson?
 How can I plan an activity-based lesson?
 Why is it appropriate for young learners?

(A) Introduction
1. What do you understand by these terms?
a topic-based approach / a grammar-based approach / a lesson plan / a lesson aim / a lesson
stage / a lesson step

(B) What is an activity based lesson?

2. You have two mixed up lesson plans. Put them in the correct order.

3. What are the differences between the two lessons?

4. What is the main aim of each lesson?

5. Which lesson would you prefer to teach? Why? And which lesson would you prefer to learn from?
Why?

(C) How can I plan an activity-based lesson?

7. Which lesson steps (A B C D F etc..) go with each stage?

PLAN A
Stage Step
Warm up

Presentation

Practice

Production

PLAN B
Stage Step
Preparation

Main activity

Follow up/Consolidation

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(D) Why is an activity-based lesson appropriate for young learners?

8. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each lesson?

Advantages Disadvantages
Plan A (3 P’s lesson)

Plan B (Activity based lesson)

9. Is plan A or Plan B more appropriate for young learners (6 – 12 year olds). Why?

10. Reading 1
~ Read the text and write down what you understand by and activity-based approach.
~ Write down one other piece of information that you found interesting in the text.
~ Compare your answers with a partner.

11. Reading 2
~ Read the text and write down six questions to ask your partner e.g.What does the writer say about
correcting errors?
~ Ask your partner your questions

11. Homework: Activity based lesson plan

Design a lesson connected to the topic of HOLIDAYS for a class of 10 year olds.

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 READING 1
Activity-based approach: An introduction (Vale and Feunteun, 1995:17)

Traditional EFL approaches usually imply that the language presented on a textbook page is the
learning aim. The result is that (in the case of teaching adults) a similar content is taught to ali the
students at the same time for a similar purpose. If this approach is transferred to the teaching of
children, it assumes that ali the children are able to, and motivated to, learn the same language, for
the same purpose, at the same time. It may certainly be more convenient, from the teacher's point of
view, to teach the same language content to ali the children at the same time, from the same page in
the same book. However, the validity of such an approach is extremely doubtful when one considers
the wide range of ability, interest and motivation that is likely to exist within, for example, an average
class of twenty eight year- old children. Moreover, if our aim is for the individual child to be at the
centre of the learning that takes place, then we must search for alternative ways of teaching English.
One possibility is to adopt an activity-based approach. Here the starting point is a practical task (or
song or children's story/rhyme), the content of which would be valid to the children in their own
mother tongue where this task is completed in the language classroom. one job for the teacher (or
activity-based coursebook) is to select a cIearly defined language point that is generated as a result of
the completion of the task. For example, if nine-year-old pupils carry out a survey on the colour of eyes
and hair among children in their class(and their parents), the language point could centre on have/has:

Ten children have brown eyes.

How many children have green eyes?
/ have green eyes. My mother has brown eyes, etc.

Here, the activity-based approach offers the opportunity for children to work on a practical task, and
succeed at their own level, incorporating their own abilities and experience. The results, created by the
children, of this practical task can be used as the context within which language practice can take
place.

The above contrasts strongly with language-based starting points such as This is a pencíl. Is the
pencíl green or red? If translated into the children's mother tongue, this task is unlikely to be
considered as valid content (or as a sensible question) for a normal nine-year-old child. However,
there is a range of problems that could confront the language teacher who wishes to use an activity-
based approach. These might include: inadequate resources for practical tasks
 difficulty in organising the classroom space
 lack of available time
 lack of available storage or display facilities
 lack of experience in the use of practical tasks as starting points for
 language practice
 imposed language-based teaching materials, etc.

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Despite the problem areas, it is worth keeping in mind that ali normal nine-year-old children, when
given the opportunity to live in an L2 environment, and interact with L2 speakers of their own age, will
successfully acquire the L2, without a teacher, usually within a six month period. It is a rare teacher
who can honestly say that ali normal nine year olds in his/her class will become successful users of
English. It is our belief that by including an activity-based approach within the language classroom, the
teacher is offering children many more opportunities for success. It follows that children who feel they
are succeeding in practical tasks will gain the confidence to take risks, in order to succeed wi th the
language that is inherent in the tasks.

Vale, D. and Feunteun, A. 1995. Teaching Children English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

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 Reading 2

Activity-based approach (Vale and Feunteun, 1995: 27 - 36)

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 PLAN A
I
Play a game about snails.

H
Have a short discussion with the pupils about snails. Do you like snails? Where do snails live?

A
Draw a snail on the
bb. Identify the
snail and the main
parts of the snail’s
body.

D
Get the children to
repeat after you
T. This is a snail
Class This is a snail
T. The snail has a round shell
Class The snail has a round shell
T. The snail has a long body
Class The snail has a long body etc…

F
Say word cues to the children and ask them to say the complete sentences about the snail e.g.
T. Snail
Class This is a snail.
T. Shell
Class The snail has a round shell etc…
Get one pupil to say several sentence about the snail.

E
Put children into pairs. Ask them to repeat the drill in pairs e.g.
Pupil A Snail
Pupil B This is a snail
Pupil A Shell etc..
Go round and listen for mistakes. Correct pupils where necessary.

B
Write some gapped sentences onto the bb. Ask children to copy them into their exercise books, filling
in the gaps as they do so. e.g.
This is a …….
The snail has……….
The ……is long and etc…

C
Ask children to read their sentences aloud.

G
Sing a song about snails.

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 PLAN B

D
Bring in some pictures of snails and blu tack them onto the bb. Tell the Ps that today they’re going to
draw pictures of snails and talk about them. Describe the snails in the pictures, repeating key words
and phrases several times and using mimes and gestures to demonstrate meaning. e.g.
This is a garden snail. It’s green and slimy. I don’t like snails…do you? Snails eat my flowers and
they’re…ugh. This is an African snail and it’s bigger and longer than this snail. See? (point to picture)
These are its horns, and its eyes and its shell. See?

L
Do a short TPR activity with the children about snails. e.g.
You’re a snail. You’ve got a head (point to it) You’ve got two horns (mime them). You’ve got a big,
beautiful shell (point to it). You’re in your shell (curl up). Stretch out your head. Stretch out your horns.
Look slowly left and right and left again. Move slowly, slowly, slowly. Look behind you. You’ve got a
trail! Point to your trail. Smile! Pull your horns in, pull your head in, go into your shell (curl up again).

J
Have a short discussion with the pupils about snails. Do you like snails? Where do snails live? What
are these (point to items in your pictures) and write new words on the bb.

H
Tell pupils you want to draw a monster snail on the bb but that you need their help with the drawing.
Ask them questions and draw the snail.
T. How big is our snail?
Class This big (pupils show with hands)
T. Is the shell round or square?
Class Round.
(Teacher starts drawing the snail)
T. What colour is our snail?
Class Green.
T. Is it happy? etc..

A
Put the class into groups of 3. Give each group a big sheet of paper and some pens and ask the pupils
to draw their own monster snail in their groups.

I
At the bb, describe the monster snail you have drawn on the bb. repeating key language structures
e.g.
This is my snail. His name’s Henry and he’s from France. He’s very big and he’s got two horns. He’s
unhappy because….

E
Ask children to describe their own snails in their groups. On the bb, write a language model for
children to use (if necessary) e.g.
This is my snail. His name’s ……..and he’s from ……….
He’s…….big/small
He’s got……….. two horns/two heads/no legs
He’s……. unhappy because…./fantastic because….
Go round each group helping with language as necessary. Pupils can write their description if
necessary.

B
Choose one pupil from each group to be “teacher”. Ask her to stand by the group’s snail picture and to
point to parts of the picture. You and the class describe the picture. Repeat this step several times.

C
Put all the pictures on bb. Ask one member from each group to describe their picture. The rest of the
class listens and says which picture is being described.

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F
Ask pupils to write a short description of their snail to stick around their big snail pictures.

G
Make a class “Snail picture” exhibition by blu tacking the pictures around the classroom walls. Ask
pupils to look at and read each “Snail picture exhibit” and vote for the best one.

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