Speaking Course

for Activate B 1

Carolyn Barraclough, Suzanne Gaynor

Pearson, Longman, 2008

by Anna Makarova

International O’key Language School

2014

Introduction

While analyzing the course Activate B1, I have come to the conclusion that there are not enough speaking activities especially for freer practice. Unfortunately, not all students have an opportunity to practise freer speaking skill in English in everyday life except lessons. That is why I have decided to design some activities which may be motivating and useful for them.

This communicative course is designed for the course book Activate B1 written by Carolyn Barraclough and Suzanne Gaynor, Pearson, Longman for teenagers aged 13-15 of intermediate level, but may also be used with other textbooks of the same level.

Aims of the course:

It is aimed to give students freer speaking practice incorporating the language they have learned.

Course structure:

Each part of the pack corresponds to the number of the Student's book unit where you can find some activities for freer practice on the topic of the unit such as discussion, role play, debate, description and others, and develop students’ speaking for fluency with the functional language and grammar.

I tried to organize materials in a communicative way and hope your students will enjoy them. I will also be really thankful if you could give comments, suggestions or further ideas on this material. Please, send it to the address:

anyuta_makarova@mail.ru

Good luck with your work!

Anna Makarova

Unit 1 “a new you”

p.10

Activity: Debating about the features

Target language: Vocabulary on the topic Professions and Features of Character; should/shouldn't for giving advice.

Interaction pattern: Group work/Pair work

Aim:

• To give freer practice with modals must/should;

• develop sts’ speaking for fluency with the functional language for giving advice.

Procedure:

Warm up

Do you agree that different professions need different treats of character? What treats do we need to be a reporter? A chef?

Group work

Work in groups of 3. Discuss the most important features of character for the following professions. Choose 3 essentials. Be ready to prove your point of view.

Profession	Necessary treats of character	Why these treats are necessary
A DJ
A farmer
A musician

Each group gets a list of 3 professions.

Presentation

Listen to each group and say whether you agree or not. Prove your point of view.

p.10

Activity: Are you a good psychologist?

Target language: Vocabulary on the topic Professions and Features of Character; should/shouldn't for giving advice.

Interaction pattern: Group work/Pair work

Aim:

• To give freer practice with modals must/should and you’d better giving advice;

• develop sts’ speaking for fluency with the functional language (treats of character).

Procedure:

Pair work

1.Imagine that you are psychologists and your partner needs your advice about his/her future profession.

2.Think of two possible jobs for your partner.

3.Tell your partner which profession will be the best for him/her and why. What features and abilities your partners have to do that kind of job (name not less than three treats of character for each job).

4.The partners listen and say whether they agree or not and why.

5.Change your roles.

Feedback

Have you appeared to be good psychologists? Who agreed/disagreed with the profession? Why? Who found it strange/ surprising/ unpredictable?

p.15 Discussion

Target language: Vocabulary on the topic Professions and Features of Character; should/shouldn't for giving advice.

Interaction pattern: Group work/Pair work

Aim: To give freer practice discussing the importance of intellectual and physical jobs.

Procedure:

1 Warm up

Class is divided into 2 groups (with the help of coloured cards or anything).

We can divide all the professions into two big groups. What are they? (intellectual and physical). What jobs can we call intellectual? Physical?

What about the present day? Which kinds of jobs do people prefer and why?

2 Debates

1) Take the card with the point of view you are going to prove.

1 person from each group comes to the teacher’s table and chooses the task they should prove.

CARDS:

Intellectual jobs are more important than physical ones.

Physical professions give us all the resources for life.

You have 5 minutes to think of your reasons.

2) We are going to listen to the presenters from the groups. Each group has 2 min. Take notes while listening, then you’ll have an opportunity to ask the opponents your questions.

3) Ask your questions. Don’t forget to be polite and tolerant to the opposite opinion.

4) We’ve heard both points of view and now you have 5 min to discuss everything in groups and present your final point of view. Have you changed it or not and why? Which kind of jobs is more important for our society nowadays? Choose another speaker.

5) Present your final decision. You have no more than 2 min.

Alternative version (more student-focused), esp.when there is a big group:

Let the sts discuss their reasons in groups and then pair up the opponents and have debates in their closed pairs. When the time’s up, they need to say which opinion has won and finally whether it coincides with their personal opinion / if it has changed their view of their future profession somehow.