1. Classroom teaching activities: part 2 Lecture # 10

2. Review of the last lecture We talked about the following teaching techniques in our last lecture. Information-gap activities for oral/aural practice Info Gap activities are useful because they are very meaningful; all students are involved in the process equally and they are all moving towards a specific purpose. Important points are pre-teaching of vocabulary, clear instructions, demonstrations, mixed ability, use of the mother tongue, the teacher’ role etc. Discourse Chains: When to use them? How to use them?

3. Classroom teaching activities: part 2 We will talk about the following teaching techniques in this lecture ; Structured Conversations: A conversation in which students know the complete format and structure of conversation and they need clues which direction to follow. Unstructured Conversation: A conversation which happen at the spur of moment.

4. Structured Conversations Many conversation classes fail because --- Students are insufficiently motivated to speak ---too few students participate ---the teacher does most of the talking --Students shy to speak --teachers don’t create conducive environment for speaking --motivational factors are lacking in the class --students have fear of making mistakes --There is communication gap in the class.

5. Structured Conversations Pyramid Discussion This technique could be used with a wide variety of topics. In this example, we will base our discussion on ‘Camping’. Stage 1: The teacher tells the group they are going to spend 2 weeks camping in Peer Chanasee, Muzaffarabad in December. To warm them up and to bring to the foreground all they know about the topic, there is informal discussion about e.g who has actually been camping and what the weather is likely to be at that time of year. The teacher then gives a list of objects they will definitely take. What you will definitely take: Tent, sleeping bag, clothing (except waterproofs and overcoat) enough money for travel and basic food supplies cooking stove, matches…

6. Structured Conversations Pyramid Discussion: The teacher also gives out a list of objects, students could take ranging from borderline necessities such as a compass or a piece or string to, perhaps, less important items, such as disposable bags.. Example: Compass torch sun glasses Camera radio sun cream Mirrorsticking plaster aspirin Ropebinoculars hot-water bottle pen-knifechess set insect repellant Antiseptic flannel a piece of string Lampraincoat hammer

7. Structured Conversations Pyramid discussion Stage 2 Students are then asked to reduce this second list to ten items on their own. They should choose the things they think would be most useful and think of good reasons for their choice. This initial decision-making is important because it forces the students to invest part of themselves in the task. Stage 3 Students are then put into pairs and asked to compare and combine their lists and produce ten items they both agree on. It is important each student justifies to the other why they think something should be included or Why they are prepared to leave something out….

8. Structured Conversations Pyramid discussions Stage 4: The pairs are asked to form groups of four and to reach agreement on a list of ten items and so on….. Using Statement for Conversation structure The topic used in this example is ‘Parents’. Method 1: Modifying The students are given a list of controversial statements. Eg ---parents should teach boys to sew and girls to mend the car. --Every child needs at least one brother and one sister. --Children should work in their school holiday and earn money.

9. Structured Conversation Cont… It’s better for the whole family to live under the same roof. Parents should not tell their children what to do after they are 16. The father is the head of family. Brothers are responsible for their sisters. Parents should be strict about what time their children come home, even when they are teenagers. Fathers should not help mothers in their domestic work. Children learn more from their parents they do from school. Groups are asked to modify the statements so that they can all agree with them. Groups then compare their modified statements with those of other games. As in a meeting, the aim of the discussion is to argue…

10. Structured Conversations Cont… Method 2: Sequencing The students are given a list of non-controversial statements. --it is important to put children to bed early if they have school the next day. --Parents should be happily married --the family should have a steady income. --it is good for children to have neighbors with children their own age. --Children learn a lot from a travelling with their parents. --Parents should encourage their children to play sports. --Too much television is bad. --children learn a lot from their parents reading to them.

11. Structured Conversations Cont… Students are then asked to sequence them (1-8) in order to priority for the successful bringing up of children in the home. The activity can be organized on an individual ….pair…group basis Method 3: Defending Different controversial statements are written on piece of paper and then put into a box. The students are told to pick out a statement and then spend a few minutes preparing arguments to defend it. One of the students can be a chairperson. All the students then have to present their arguments in turn, answer questions and defend themselves from attack.

12. Pyramid Learning

13. Summary In this lecture, we talked about structured and unstructured conversations in detail. We discussed pyramid discussions which has four stages: We took camping example for our discussion. Stages 1 gives information; Stage 2 require discussion; stage 3 needs pair work; stage 4 requires argumentation. Using statements for conversation structures. Modifying Sequencing Defending