A Grade 5b English speaking lesson using Computer Assisted Language Learning

In this speaking lesson, I want to encourage co-operative interaction using an information gap task, between partners. There is a justification for pair work as it often leads to more negotiation than activities which are done in groups of four. The type of information gap activity I will be using is called a “superior-inferior” task, where the one learner has all the information that the other learner needs to complete the task. Listen and do activities, such as picture drawing in pairs, has been used in research to show, that if they are at the right level of difficulty, they can lead to negotiation. Through my TESOL studies I have learnt that when designing for early meaning-focused speaking activities, that they should consist of single-sentence turns; should have a game-like element; and, should be productive tasks that make learning through comprehending, noticing, comparing and using possible.

In preparation for the class, as a pre-class activity or as an additional Pre-task activity, the students can practice the target vocabulary using the quizlet I made. This functions as active reinforcement of previously taught language items. The quizlet can be used in class on student's smartphones.

In the Pre-task activity I have filmed a video conversation “Describing a celebrity”. This is a video conversation in which my Korean co-teacher describes a celebrity to me. This functions modelling for the task to be done by the students, which gives the students preparation time to think about how to do the task. A second Pre-task is a warm up activity where the students are shown a picture of a cartoon monster, and they are encouraged to describe the monster using the key sentences previously learnt in other lessons. The resulting language items are written on the whiteboard so as to highlight, and brainstorm, useful words and phrases for the main activity. This helps the students to understand the theme and objective of the task.

The Main Task of my speaking lesson is a Listen and Do activity where, in pairs, learners draw their own monsters, without showing their partners the result. Student 1 describes their monster. Student 2 listens and draws the monster. Then they switch. Student 2 describes and Student 1 draws. When they are finished they compare their monsters to the originals. As the teacher I will walk around encouraging students’ communication and monitoring their use of the target language. The prezzi I made to show the students how to do the activity, is accessible on the blog, too, so that they may re-look at it at any time and at their leisure reinforce, their understanding of the lesson. This is something that is usually not possible for students.

Due to time constraints the Planning and Reporting phases are conflated. A few students show their results to the class and report, describing their drawings and the drawing activity. Ideally the students would have time to draft and rehearse what their report, in order to emphasize clarity, organization and accuracy.

Likewise, the Analysis and Practice phases are also combined. A quiz is given which highlights language items heard in the pre-task video. The Google quiz can also be used as a homework activity, in which students can rewatch the video as many times as they wish, in their own time, before completing the online quiz.