Teaching Speaking

To make my students develop their speaking skill I would suggest a talk on the topics “Sport in our life” and “Outdoor Activities”. These topics are interrelated and are actual for any age of students, as most of them like running, swimming, playing different sport games. The talking points, which could be of interest for my pupils are:

1. My favourite outdoor activity.

2. Professional sportsmen - how hard is it?.

3. Keeping fit.

To stimulate discussion on the point “Family celebrations” I can suggest the following questions:

1. Do you go in for sports? What kind of sport do you prefer?

2. Do you like camping? Why?

3. What professional sportsmen do you know? How do you think, is it hard to be a professional sportsman? Why?

4. What should we do to keep fit? What do you usually do for that?

Teaching Reading.

Form: 8th form

Educational Aim : to form reading skills

Objectives: to make pupils interested in reading, to wide their scope

Aims: training speaking skills, training writing skills, training grammar skills

Theme: fairy tale “The Discontented Pig”

I will begin the lesson with the warming up activity. I greet them and we will talk about the weather and their plans for today. That activity will help them to start speak English. Then I suggest some phonetic exercises. I’d like my pupils to pronounce some tone twisters such as (Ten tigers took the ten twentieth train to Timbaktoo , Piter Piper picked a peppy pot. She sells see-shells at the see-shore, the shells she sells are see-shells, she is sure.) to prepare their organs of speech for speaking English.

Then I announce the theme of the lesson to concentrate their attention on the text. Further I will discuss the title with the pupils, ask about their expectations of what the text is going to be about.

The Discontented Pig.

Long, long ago a pig lived in a house at the edge of a village, and every day he worked in his garden. His was a most magnificent garden, and every year he won awards for producing the finest vegetables in the entire kingdom.

However, after many years of tending his garden in good weather and bad, the pig began to grow tired and discontented. He figured there must be an easier way to make a living. So he shut up his house and set off to find a new and easier way to make money.

Eventually he came to the home of a cat named Thomas, and from the house rang out the sweetest music. The Discontented Pig marvelled as Thomas expertly played his violin. “Surely this must be easier than tending a garden” thought the pig and he asked Thomas to teach him to play the violin.

Thomas handed the pig a violin and bow and showed him how to play. But when the pig began to play the music was terrible…more like the sounds of bleating pigs than the sweet lullabies of Thomas. “this is terrible” cried the pig. “I thought you would teach me to play!”

“And that I will” replied Thomas, “but mastering the violin takes many years of practise and hard work.”

“Then I think I’ll look for something else”, answered the pig, “because this is as hard as weeding my garden.”

And so the pig set off down the road again, until he came to a house where there lived a dog who made cheese. “This may be just what I’m looking for” thought Pig. “After all, I love to eat and I could make the most delicious cheeses both for myself and to sell.” So he asked if the dog would teach him to make cheese.

“That I will” agreed the dog, and the two set about making cheese. But turning and kneading the cheese was hot and thirsty work, and after a while the discontented pig stopped for a rest.

“You can’t stop now” cried the dog. “The cheese will spoil. There can be no resting until the job is finished.”

“This is just as hard as growing vegetables” answered the pig. “I need to find something easier.”

And so he set off down the road once more, until he came across a man taking honey out of beehives. “Ah, honey gathering” thought the pig, “this is just what I’ve been looking for. I can fill my belly with delicious honey and certainly it does not look hard to gather.” So the pig asked the man to teach him how to gather honey.

The man readily agreed. He gave the pig a pair of gloves and a veil to cover his face and showed him how to lift honey out of a hive. But when the pig tried for himself some bees got into his gloves and under his veil and stung him. “How do I do this without getting stung?!” cried the pig.

“Why you can’t” said the man. “You cannot be a beekeeper without sometimes being stung.”

“Well then this is just too hard” said the pig as he waved the man goodbye.

As the little pig continued down the road he came to the realisation that every kind of work has something unpleasant about it. So he turned around and went back to his home and his vegetable garden. He hoed and raked and weeded and sang as he worked. And there was no more contented pig in all that kingdom.

Right after reading the text I ask my pupils the underline all the verbs in the text for to revise grammar. That task will help the students to elicit the verb forms in Present Simple tense and will train the scanning skill.

I would suggest the following comprehensive exercises to check the understanding of the text “The Discontented Pig”.

Exercise 1. Multiple choice.

1. The pig lived in the house at the edge of the village and every day he worked

a) in the field b) at home c) in the garden.

2. Every year the pig won

a) the medal b) the royal prize c) the present at the fair.

3. The pig

a) locked the door of his house. b)opened c) closed

4. The cat Thomas made his living by playing

a) the guitar b) the violin c) the piano.

5. A dog who made

a) ice-creem lived in b)cheese c)butter

a) a hug b) a big house c) a castle.

6. Оп the other side of the river in a sweet green field a man was taking honey out

a) of flowers b) beehives c) rooms.

7. The pig said

a) good morning to the beeman and was soon back in his vegetable garden. b) good-bye c) good-evening

Exercise 2. Mark the given sentences T or F standing for True and False.

1. The pig dug and weeded tomatoes and carrots, (T)

2. The pig travelled about five miles till he came to a cottage behind the trees. (F)

3. The pig took with himself the bow and the fiddle and ran down the road. (F)

4. The pig grew hot and tired during making cheese and stopped to rest and fan himself. (T)

5. The beekeeper gave little pig a veil and a pair of gloves. (T)

6. The bees stung the pig on his fingers, his mouth, his ears and the end of his nose. (T)

7. The pig was crying while working in the garden. (F)

These exercises checks pupils’ understanding of the facts from the story

Exercise 3. Continue the sentences.

Every day the pig worked ... . (in the garden)

Little pig grew tired of the endless ... . (toil)

The pig locked the door of his house and started down .... (the road)

Thomas made his living by playing ... . (the violin)

The cat gave the pig the bow and the ... .(riddle)

The pig asked the dog to teach him to ... . (make cheese)

This plan pleased the bee man as much as it pleased ... .(the pig)

The bees crept under his veil and inside his ... . (gloves)

Every autumn the pig took his vegetables to the ... (fair) and brought home the royal... (prize)

Sometimes, on holidays , the cat and the dog and the bee man came ... . (to see the pig)

The exercise checks understanding of the facts from both parts of the text. It is a bit more difficult than the previous exercise because the questions do not quote verbatim from the text but paraphrase it, thus they encourage learners to interpret the facts. Besides, this exercise makes students look through the text again and again, thus developing their speed of reading and visual memory, on the one hand, on the other hand, to find the sentences, which are answers to the given task, students should recall the content of both parts of the text and think about key words.

Exercise 4. Give your opinion to the statements.

To play the violin you must practice until your arm aches.

When you make cheese you must not stop a minute until the work is done.

While taking honey from a hive the bees sting you until your head is on fire.

To work in the garden is not so hard.

Exercise 5.  Make up the sentences out of given words and write down them in chronological order. Each group presents the story.

a cottage, the trees, the pig, behind, came to.