18 2024

English Teachers’
ROUND TABLE NUMBER 18 2024

ARTICLES

2 Creating the Conditions for Fluency in an English Language Classroom

Annette Schaffer
5 Communicating Deep Thoughts: Four Ways
to Increase Students’ Critical Thinking
Katie Miller

LESSON PLANS

11 Public Holidays in Kyrgyzstan

Natalia Tsukanova

17 You Can Always Count on Me

Veronika Kutseva

15 Health Problems
Aigul Suinalieva

13 Unit 10A: Ecology - 6th grade lesson

Chynara Abdysheva

This journal was published within the Next Generation Education Project supported
by the Ministry of Education and the US Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic
and implemented by Lingua Foundation for Innovative Education.
ARTICLES
Creating the Conditions
for Fluency in an English
Language Classroom
Annette Schaffer
English Language Fellow
Issyk Kul State University, Karakol
When I arrived here in Karakol this
fall, it didn’t take long to recognize that
many of my students have a tremendous
vocabulary in English and they read quite
well. They have a solid foundation of the
language but are often timid about having
a conversation or chatting casually. It was
immediately clear that my work as a teach-
er would be to help students shift from un-
derstanding English to speaking it fluently
and fluidly.
This process is both intellectually rig-
orous and emotional. It not only requires
students to draw from everything they’ve
been taught but also to be confident in
themselves and their ability. They have
to feel comfortable acknowledging when
they don't understand and asking for help.
They have to take intellectual risks without
fear of failure. As Ian Kelleher and Glenn
Whitman explain in “Every Educator
Needs to Know How the Brain Learns”,
“Emotion and cognition are intertwined.
Students bring their emotions, identities,
and whole mental and physical selves to
learning” (Kelleher and Whitman, 2020,
para. 4).
Sometimes, with the best intentions
to cover as much content as possible, we
teachers can overlook the emotional as-
pect of language learning. I’d like to slow
2 NUMBER 18
us down, remind us of what it felt like to
learn a language, and offer some ideas of
how to create learning environments that
support language development.
The research on brain science tells us
that students learn best when they feel
safe, comfortable, and connected. In
Culturally Responsive Teaching and the
Brain, Zaretta Hammond explains that
“The brain’s two prime directives are to
stay safe and be happy. The brain takes its
social needs very seriously and is fierce in
protecting an individual’s sense of well-be-
ing, self-determination, and self-worth
along with this connection to communi-
ty. We cannot downplay students’ need
to feel safe and valued in the classroom”
(Hammond, 2015, p. 67). Further, she
highlights that “Neuroscience tells us the
brain feels safest and relaxed when we are
connected to others, we trust to treat us
well” (Hammond, 2015, p. 96). When stu-
dents enter our rooms, we want them to
know that they will be considered, cared
for, and treated well. This is when their
bodies and brains are primed for learning.
Conversely, if students don’t feel that
comfort and connection – if they feel un-
safe in some way – their brains can re-
vert to a state of what’s called “fight, flight,
or freeze”. They subconsciously act in
2024 E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E
a responsive, protective mode by either
shutting down or avoiding the task entire-
ly. Historically, this physiological process
kept us safe from both real and perceived
dangers, but in today’s classrooms, it can
actually prevent students from learning.
As educators, we can create safe, pro-
ductive learning environments by taking
the time to intentionally build communi-
ty and trust. Try starting each class with a
five-minute language game or fun activi-
ty. It will likely make the rest of your les-
son more effective. Those five minutes are
a small investment in making your stu-
dents feel safe, relaxed, and connected,
which prepares their brains to learn. Here
are just a few examples of warm up activ-
ities that can build community and trust:
• Silent Line Up: Ask students to line up
without talking by their height, then
their birthday, then their shoe size. Add
whatever categories you want.
• Warp Speed: Have students stand in
a circle. They should pass the ball
from person to person until everyone
has had it. The ball should start and
end with you. Next, ask them to re-
peat the process and time how long it
takes. Challenge them to do it again in
half the time (National School Reform
Faculty, n.d.). It may take a few tries, but
groups can usually accomplish this goal.
• Hot Potato: With students in a circle,
call out a topic such as “things in the
kitchen” or “cold weather clothing” or
even “irregular verbs”. Start a timer for
less than a minute. Each person must
name an item in the category before
they pass the ball to someone else. You
don’t want to have the ball (or “hot po-
tato”) when the timer goes off.
These are just three simple games that
you can play with five-year-olds, teenag-
ers, and adults. They’re quick, silly, and
don’t require anything other than a ball
and the timer on your phone. The game
itself is less important than the shared
E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E
experience it provides for your students.
Everyone can participate, regardless of
how much English they know, and ulti-
mately it doesn’t matter if someone “mess-
es up”. Again, the goal is to make students
feel safe, relaxed, and connected.
I’ve played these games and many oth-
ers with my methodology students this se-
mester, and they have consistently made
the same observation – when they are fo-
cused on something like catching a ball or
thinking on their feet, they shift their en-
ergy away from being nervous to speak
in English. They’re so consumed by not
dropping the ball, for example, that they
speak freely and without the heavy filter
of self-consciousness. Additionally, when
we play games and make mistakes, every-
one can laugh and enjoy the silliness of it.
This transfers to the more academic work
of language learning and lowers the barri-
ers for taking risks.
Another fun way to lower the stakes
of language learning is through mu-
sic. American music can be used to teach
about culture, pronunciation, rhyming
words, and often a tremendous amount
of slang. It’s accessible to students, and
they can enjoy it outside of class. Perhaps
even more importantly, using music
in the classroom connects students to
Kyrgyzstan’s rich traditional of storytell-
ing. In Culturally Responsive Teaching and
the Brain, Zaretta Hammond explains,
“Cultures with a strong oral tradition rely
heavily on the brain’s memory and social
engagement systems to process new learn-
ing. Learning will be more effective if pro-
cessed using the common cultural learn-
ing aids – stories, music, and repetition”
(Hammond, 2015, p. 68).
Here are a few examples of how you
can use music to support language acqui-
sition in your classroom:
• Cut up the lyrics to a song. Have
groups of students put the words in the
correct order, like a puzzle, as they lis-
ten to the song.
NUMBER 18 2024 3
 • Have groups of students stand when
they hear a part of speech. For example,
one group can be verbs, another nouns,
and another adjectives. Depending on
how fast the song is, this can get tricky
very quickly!
• Write song lyrics on chart paper and
use them for shared reading activi-
ties as a class. You can identify rhym-
ing words, teach grammar, and cover
words to fill in the blank.
• Have each group of students learn a
different verse to the song and teach ev-
eryone the chorus. Film the class sing-
ing their parts. Annette Schaffer is currently an
English Language Fellow at Issyk Kul
These are only examples, and you’ve State University in Karakol. She has spent
likely done activities like this in your most of her career in New York City as
classes before. Yet sometimes, as busy an English as a Second Language teach-
teachers, it’s helpful to remind ourselves to er and school leader in both elementa-
slow down and have fun. It’s good for us, ry and middle schools. She has taught un-
it’s amazing for our students, and the re- dergraduate and graduate courses at Pace
search on brain science tell us that it’s im- University’s School of Education and con-
portant to create these connections in a re- sulted on school improvement initiatives in
laxed atmosphere. As we lower the barri- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Annette holds
ers to taking intellectual risks, students a bachelor’s degree in international stud-
will be able step out of their comfort ies and history from American University
zones, and that’s when they really devel- as well as a master’s degree in TESOL from
op fluency. Once they do, they will unlock Pace University.
endless possibilities in this multilingual
world.

References:
1. Hammond, Zaretta, Culturally
Responsive Teaching and the Brain.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
2. Kelleher, Ian and Whitman, Glenn.
(2020, May 28) Every Educator Needs to
Know How the Brain Learns. ACSD.org.
https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/every-ed-
ucator-needs-to-know-how-the-brain-
learns.
3. National School Reform Faculty.
Warp Speed. Harmony Education Center.
https://www.nsrfharmony.org/wp-con-
tent/uploads/2017/10/warp_speed_0.pdf

4 NUMBER 18 2024 E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E
Communicating Deep Thoughts:
Four Ways to Increase
Students’ Critical Thinking
Katie Miller
English Language Fellow
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Pop Quiz
Do you agree or disagree with these
statements?
1. A person who remembers lots of facts
will be good at critical thinking.
2. People use critical thinking in everyday
tasks.
3. Teaching critical thinking is easy.
4. Critical thinking cannot be taught to
beginner proficiency students.
5. There is no critical thinking in a gram-
mar lesson.
Right now, as you are thinking about
these ideas and your own experiences as
teachers, you are engaging in the pro-
cess of critical thinking. You are decid-
ing, evaluating, judging, hypothesizing,
and imagining. Your brain is engaged in
deep thinking, rather than simple com-
prehension at the sentence level. As ed-
ucators, we don’t tell our students what
to think, but we do want to teach them
how to think. “The Partnership for 21st
Century Skills has identified critical think-
ing as one of several learning and inno-
vation skills necessary to prepare stu-
dents for post-secondary education and
the workforce” (Lai, 2011). Critical think-
ing is both a desired outcome of education
as well as a means to increase language
learning.
Let’s check our answers to the pop quiz.
1. Critical thinking is not the same as
memorizing facts or being able to recall
E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E
information. Some people might be in-
telligent in this way and also be good at
thinking critically, but these are not the
same skills.
2. Critical thinking is not just used inside
an academic classroom. Think about
the times you planned a trip, fixed an
issue in your house, analyzed a conver-
sation you had with a family member.
We are constantly using higher order
thinking even in everyday tasks.
3. Some people might say teaching this
skill is easy, others might say it’s dif-
ficult. However, we can agree that it is
something you can teach, practice, and
foster with your students.
4. Learners of all ages and levels can en-
gage in critical thinking. Our brains are
powerful, and being language learners
does not mean our intelligence is low-
ered when we speak with an accent.
5. Grammar lessons include lots of criti-
cal thinking as students make decisions
about which form to use and learn to
identify and correct errors.
Here’s an example of how a grammar
lesson can progress through the levels of
thinking in Bloom’s Taxonomy:
1. Remember: State the rule for forming
regular past verbs using -ED.
2. Understand: Identify regular past verbs
in sentences.
3. Apply: Write sentences about your
weekend using regular past verbs.
NUMBER 18 2024 5
 4. Analyze: Compare regular past verbs to
irregular.
5. Evaluate: Find and fix 5 errors in past
verbs in a paragraph.
6. Create: Make up a story about a picture
using past verbs and your imagination.
Strategy 1: Questioning
In communicative teaching, “the role
of the teacher in the language classroom
is that of a facilitator, who… provides op-
portunities for students to use and prac-
tice the language.” (Richards, 2006).
Teachers facilitate by asking many ques-
tions (Dillon, 1982). The problem is when
the majority of the teacher’s questions
don’t rise above simple or lower levels of
thinking (Khan & Inamullah, 2011). We
Strategy 2: Use Pictures
Rich visuals are an easy entry into crit-
ical thinking because there is usually no
English needed to understand the im-
age. But the details, context, and compo-
sition provide a lot of jumping off points
for analysis. These activities can be used
as a quick Warm Up, a closing, after a
break, or be directly connected to the les-
son’s objectives. First, we can ask students
6 NUMBER 18
want students to engage with higher or-
der thinking in Bloom’s Taxonomy: ap-
plying, analyzing, evaluating, and creat-
ing. Rigorous thinking can happen when
rigorous questions are asked, no matter
the proficiency level. We just need to use
the right language in our questions to elic-
it the thinking we want. The figure below
shows how we can modify questions so
that the language is simplified but the task
remains the same. English learners can
express opinions, make judgments about
the action in a story and evaluate the work
of an author. We can also modify their ex-
pected output: a beginner can respond
with yes or no, while more advanced
learners respond in one simple sentence or
a more elaborate paragraph.
to describe what they see in the picture
(literal meaning), and then ask questions
that provoke critical thinking (inferen-
tial). “Referential questions are used to
challenge students to think and respond at
higher levels of cognition, to stimulate cre-
ativity and to involve students by asking
for their opinions (Feng, 2013). For exam-
ple, take the picture below.
2024 E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E
 “What do you see in the picture?” will
yield answers such as a house, a field, some
trees, the sky, clouds. When we ask ques-
tions like “What will happen? Who lives
in the house? Why did the photographer
choose to stay outside instead of going in-
side?” we will get deeper and more inter-
esting answers. Here are some general
guidelines for choosing pictures.

• An abstract picture makes students

synthesize a plot, feeling, or title based
on its elements.

• An image that is rich in details will

give students a lot to think about and
draw conclusions about.

Strategy 3: Word Connections

• An ambiguous image invites different
perspectives and disagreement.
• A controversial picture can generate a
friendly argument and make students
give evidence for opinions.
When we teach vocabulary, we fo-
cus on the meaning, pronunciation, and
form of the word. Students will bene-
fit when they are asked to make con-
nections among the meanings of words.

E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E NUMBER 18 2024 7
 “As students learn to think, they are able
to explain and manipulate increasing-
ly complex systems containing many dis-
crete elements and complex relationships”
(Roberts & Billings, 2008). If we think of
a student’s working vocabulary as an ev-
er-increasing system, we want them to be
able to map relationships between new
words and acquired words to better un-
derstand synonyms, antonyms, and dif-
ferent shades of meaning. Students can
play a game of dominoes using vocabu-
lary words and connector pieces on note-
cards. The connectors can be equals, is the
opposite of, uses, is a part of, is a kind of,
has a, needs, does, does not, is more than,
is less than, etc. They work in small groups
to place words on the board in relation to
a previously placed word, and have to ex-
plain the connection between the two
words, while their classmates decide if this
connection is good or not.
Even beginners can work with the
meanings of new words using this strate-
gy, matching simple nouns and adjectives.
For example, we can say “A car is expen-
sive,” but we can’t say “A car is rich.”
8 NUMBER 18
Strategy 4: Debate and Survive
One of the most engaging lessons I
teach is where I give students a surviv-
al scenario and they have to work in small
groups to compete for survival. No stu-
dents are harmed in this completely hypo-
thetical activity; the scenarios come from
military training exercises for when sol-
diers find themselves stranded in danger-
ous conditions. Students are lost in the
mountains, or lost at sea, and have a list of
supplies salvaged from their vehicle. As a
group, they have to think about the pos-
sible uses for the item with a goal of be-
ing rescued and surviving until that hap-
pens. For example, what could they do
with a plastic sheet 3 meters by 3 meters in
size – protect themselves from the wind?
Collect rainwater? Keep firewood dry? As
a group they have to rank the items ac-
cording to their importance. Then they
share out their top five choices. The teach-
er reviews the potential uses of each item
and students earn points per item if they
have chosen wisely: for example, in a list
of twelve potential items to keep, the most
important item is worth twelve points, so
if the students have that item in their top
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five, they would earn those twelve points.
The least useful item is worth one point, so
if the students have that item in their top
five, they would only earn one point. The
usefulness of the items comes from the
military experts who designed the train-
ing. These activities let students imagine
new uses for everyday items, decide which
are the most useful, and debate with their
classmates about why their choices are
better. The rich details of the scenario fos-
ter genuine communication, creativity,
and competition.
Conclusion
While critical thinking may seem like
a difficult concept, the truth is that it can
easily be a part of every lesson. When we
ask the right questions, we will make stu-
dents engage with higher order think-
ing. When we use interesting pictures, ac-
tivities, and debates, we allow students to
think deeply in a “user-friendly” format.
Rather than classify critical thinking as
an exercise only for advanced students or
highly intelligent people, we let students
E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E
see that anyone is capable of deep think-
ing, especially when it’s fun. “Thought-
provoking” is an adjective that should
describe the language instruction we
provide.
References
Dillon, J. T. (1982). The multi-disci-
plinary study of questioning. Journal of
Educational
Psychology, 74(2), 147-165. http://dx.doi.
org/10.1037/0022-0663.74.2.147
Feng, Z. (2013). Using Teacher
Questions to Enhance EFL Students'
Critical Thinking Ability.
Journal of Curriculum and Teaching,
2(2), 147-153.
Khan, W. B., & Inamullah, H. M.
(2011). A study of lower-order and high-
er-order questions at secondary level.
Asian Social Science, 7(9), 149-157. http://
dx.doi.org/10.5539/ass.v7n9p149
Lai, E. R. (2011). Critical thinking:
A literature review. Pearson's Research
Reports, 6(1), 40-41.
NUMBER 18 2024 9
 Richards, J.C. (2006). Communicative
language teaching today. New York:
Cambridge
University Press. https://www.profes-
sorjackrichards.com/wp-content/uploads/
Richards-Communicative-Language.pdf
Robert, T. & Billings, L. (2018).
Thinking is literacy, literacy thinking.
Educational Leadership, 65(5), pp. 32–36.

Katie Miller is serving as an English

Language Fellow in Bishkek, working with
Lingua Foundation on Next Generation
Education projects. She is originally from
New Jersey and has lived in Maryland,
close to Washington, D.C. for the past six-
teen years, where she has taught ESOL and
STEM in secondary and adult education.
Katie is a National Board Certified teach-
er in English as a New Language, and was
most recently a high school English Learner
Department Chair. She holds a BSLA in
French from Georgetown University and
an MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL
from Old Dominion University. She is
a Past President of Maryland TESOL
(2020-2021).

10 NUMBER 18 2024 E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E

Public Holidays in Kyrgyzstan
Natalia Tsukanova
International University of Central Asia, Tokmok
LEVEL: A2/Elementary
TIME REQUIRED: 45 minutes
OBJECTIVES: By the end of the les-
son, students will be able to:
• retell the texts about public holidays in
Kyrgyzstan using the target lexis and
phrasal verbs;
• find out the meaning of the words from
the context and match them to the
definitions.
BACKGROUND:
The outlined lesson plan follows the in-
tegrated-skills approach, covering listen-
ing, speaking, and reading. This meth-
od is widely used in EFL settings for its ef-
fectiveness in enhancing students’ com-
municative skills and English proficien-
cy. The lesson focuses on Public Holidays
in the Kyrgyz Republic. It emphasizes the
importance of using personalized and cul-
turally relevant materials in EFL class-
es. Personalized content maintains stu-
dent engagement, while materials tied to
their cultural context promote a better un-
derstanding. This approach fosters pride
in one’s heritage, establishes a supportive
learning environment, and improves the
overall learning experience, making lan-
guage acquisition more effective and cul-
turally enriching. Additionally, the engag-
ing topic encourages learners to partici-
pate in communication involving personal
experiences and emotions.
E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E
LESSON PLANS
SKILL FOCUS: It is an integrat-
ed-skills lesson that has the practice of
reading, speaking, listening, and writing
skills. In an integrated ESL class, students
develop their listening, speaking, reading,
and writing skills concurrently. This holis-
tic approach encourages learners to apply
language skills in real-life contexts, pro-
moting effective communication. Through
integrated activities, students not only ac-
quire language proficiency but also en-
hance their ability to use English in prac-
tical situations.
MATERIALS: Абдышева Ч.А.,
Балута О.Р., Фатнева А.Г., Цуканова
Н.Э. Английский язык 5 кл.: Учебник
для школ с русским языком обучения.-
Бишкек, 2017. – С. 96-99.
PREPARATION: All the materials
are available in the “Английский язык 5
класс” textbook.
PROCEDURE:
Pre-reading stage (~ 5 min)
Students work individually or in pairs
and make a list of public holidays in
Kyrgyzstan (p. 96 ex. 1). If it is necessary
the teacher can first elicit the meaning of
the term ‘public holiday’, students have
to understand that their birthday is not a
public holiday. They need to understand
that public holiday is a holiday when most
businesses and institutions are closed.
This stage helps to activate students’
NUMBER 18 2024 11
 background knowledge, introduce the top-
ic of the lesson, and create English-only
atmosphere.
During reading stage (~ 35 min)
Before students start the next stage of
the lesson, the teacher should ask students
to look through the table (p. 96 ex. 2 a)
and, probably, clarify problematic issues.
Students are divided into three groups;
each group gets the text about one of the
holidays only. Their task is to read the text
(pp. 96-97 ex. 2 a) , complete their part of
the table and compare the results of their
work in their groups. It is important to
explain to students that at this stage they
do not have to read the text very atten-
tively and understand every single word.
Students should develop skimming skills.
If students are not used to such kind of ac-
tivity, the teacher can set time limit or or-
ganize the activity as a game or a competi-
tion. It will help to focus their attention on
the task and make them work faster.
Students work in groups of three. In ev-
ery group there must be a representative
from three groups, i.e. there must be peo-
ple who have read three different texts.
Students use their notes, retell the texts
about the holidays, and other students in
the group complete their tables. This activ-
ity helps to develop speaking fluency. This
activity is motivating as students feel con-
fident due to visual aids and rehearsal in
their previous group. This activity is called
jigsaw reading.
Students read all three texts (p.97 ex.
3a and p.98 ex 3b). This time they have
to match new words and phrases with
their definitions. To help the students,
12 NUMBER 18
the phrases and words are highlighted in
the text. To help students remember the
words and phrases better, the teacher asks
students to work in pairs and take turns
reading definitions and saying the words
or phrases.
Answer key: a) huge, b) holy, c)to last, d)
to decorate, e) a mosque, f) gifts, g) to take
place, h) neighbours, i)to bring good luck, j)
to pray, k) feast
Post-reding stage (~ 5 min)
Students work in groups or in pairs and
talk about their favourite public holidays.
The activity of discussing favorite pub-
lic holidays in groups or pairs aligns with
communicative methodology principles
by promoting active communication, cul-
tural exchange, collaborative learning, and
personalized language acquisition.
NOTES: The lesson plan above is an
example of a lesson that aims at develop-
ing all four language skills (listening, writ-
ing, reading, and speaking). While teach-
ing, teachers should remember that in re-
al life we often use more than a single lan-
guage skill. On the telephone, for instance,
we listen and speak - maybe we also write
down a message and read over what we
have written. Integrated approach helps to
build new knowledge and skills on to what
students already know and can do. In the
case of the lesson plan above students read
texts about public holidays in Kyrgyzstan,
these texts help them to write their own
description. The suggested lesson plan al-
lows teachers to build more variety into
the lesson and develop speaking, listening,
reading, and writing practice. This can
raise students’ motivation to learn English.
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E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E NUMBER 18 2024 13
14 NUMBER 18 2024 E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E
E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E NUMBER 18 2024 15
 Natalia Tsukanova is a senior lectur-
er at International University in Central
Asia. She began her career at the Lingua
Foundation for Innovative Education,
where she worked her way up from an
English teacher to a teacher-trainer.
Natalia has been teaching English to chil-
dren and adults at different stages of their
education for 21 years; is a member of the
working group developing the State subject
standard for a foreign language, as well as
English language programs for secondary
schools and for professional development
of English teachers; develops questions for
Nation wide testing. She is also a coauthor
of educational and methodological com-
plexes in English for grades 3, 4, 5, 10 and
11, as well as numerous methodological
and training manuals for teachers and for
English language learners.

16 NUMBER 18 2024 E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E
 You Can Always Count on Me
(phrasal verbs/revision)
Veronika Kutseva
Tangatarov boarding school-gymnasium #14
This lesson plan is based on the follow-
ing materials: a song “Count on me” by
Bruno Mars and an adapted version of the
story “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry.
Level: Upper- Intermediate
Time: Two class periods of 45 minutes
each
Objectives: By the end of the lesson,
students will be able to:
• revise and practice phrasal verbs relat-
ed to the Friendship topic;
• collect, share, and analyze information
from given parts of a text;
• share opinions on the value of
friendship;
• create an ending for a given story.
Skills being developed during the
lesson:
• reading parts of a story;
• listening to the song “Count on me”;
• speaking about the story, sharing opin-
ions about friendship;
• writing a possible ending for the sto-
ry; as a home assignment, writing
an argumentative essay on two prov-
erbs “Friendship is the only unsinkable
ship” and “Friendship is friendship, but
don’t go into the pocket”.
• Critical Thinking: creating an ending
for the story;
• sharing opinions about friendship;
• advocating own point of view.
Materials and Equipment: cards
with letters of the word “Friendship”, a
E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E
song “Count on me”, the parts of a text
(Appendix 1), the song lyrics (Appendix
2); three toys that make sounds.
Part 1 (45 min.)
Procedure:
Warm up
An anagram “d e F i s h n i r p” made
of cards with letters is on the board.
Students solve the anagram. After solving
it, the title of the lesson is written on the
board “Friendship” and students are asked
to think and tell the associations they have
when they see this word. Some additional
questions can be asked to support the im-
portance of the topic.
Preparation
The class is divided into four groups
in the following way - each student takes
one strip of paper with one of the follow-
ing writings:
1A; 1B; 1C; 1D;
2A; 2B; 2C; 2D;
3A; 3B; 3C; 3D.
This arrangement results in students
being divided into four groups (A, B, C,
D) at the first stage (and then into three
groups at the second stage).
Pre-reading
The four groups (A, B, C, D) are giv-
en different parts of the text “The Last
Leaf” (Appendix 1). Each group reads its
part and discusses it within their teams.
The task is to write new words on A4 pa-
pers from the passage they have and
try to guess their meanings from context.
NUMBER 18 2024 17
 The teacher observes and assists where
necessary.
Then each group presents their words
by sticking the papers with the words
on the board and explaining the mean-
ings, giving definitions, or demonstrating
through showing or acting.
During-reading
In the second stage, the students are di-
vided into three groups (1,2,3) according
to the numbers written on the strips. The
groups are switched and mixed into three
teams (1,2,3). Now each member of every
team must retell his/her part of the story
to all the other members. This way, every
group will have the whole picture of the
story, retold and discussed again.
Post-reading
A “Question-Answer” competition:
each group gets a toy which makes a
sound. The task is to answer the questions
the teacher reads. The team which first
makes a sound with the help of a toy has
a chance to answer first. (Questions are in
the teacher's part of the handout #1). After
the competition is over, the winning team
is determined, and students in groups are
asked to create their variants of how the
story could be ended. The writings are
read. Then, the original version is present-
ed (refer to the teacher's part of the hand-
out #1) and discussed. Students talk about
what amazed them in the story.
The end of the 1st part of the lesson
(45 min.)
Part 2
Procedure:
Pre-listening Teacher distributes hand-
outs of a song (Appendix 2) with miss-
ing words and asks students to guess the
meaning of the song’s title “Count on me”.
The teacher facilitates an open-class dis-
cussion, putting students’ ideas on the
board.
18 NUMBER 18
During Listening #1 Now, students
listen to the song and check their ideas.
“Count on somebody” is a phrasal verb
which means “to rely or to depend on
somebody”.
Listening #2 Students listen to the
song again and fill in the gaps. Once stu-
dents have completed the task, they check
their answers with a partner before doing
a whole-class check together.
Post Listening Students find more
phrasal verbs in the song. In pairs, they
discuss their meanings.
Each student is given a handout with
the full version of the text “The Last Leaf”
and asked to find phrasal verbs, explain
their meanings.
Production
The teacher asks students if they know
any proverbs about friendship, followed by
a discussion.
Home assignment: Students are to
write an argumentative essay on two prov-
erbs “Friendship is the only unsinkable
ship” and “Friendship is friendship, but
don’t go into the pocket”. They are en-
couraged to use more phrasal verbs in the
essays.
Appendix 1
Handout #1
The Last Leaf (After O. Henry)
An adapted version
A-group.
Sue and Johnsy were poor artists who
lived in a little New York district west of
Washington square. They painted pictures
which they hoped to sell. Their studio was
on the third floor of an old brick house.
They became friends in May and decid-
ed to live together. In November Johnsy
fell ill. She lay in bed near the window and
looked at the side of the next brick house.
One morning, the doctor, who came to
prescribe a treatment for Johnsy, asked Sue
to come out to the corridor. “Your friend is
2024 E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E
very ill, she has one chance in – let us say,
ten”, he said “And that chance is for her
to want to live. Your little lady has decid-
ed that she is not going to get well. I prom-
ise to do all that I can, but you must help
me. Let her think not of her illness, but of
some other positive things”.
After the doctor had gone, Sue went in-
to Johnsy’s room. Johnsy lay with her face
towards the window. Sue thought that she
was sleeping, but then she heard Johnsy
counting something. “Twelve”, she said,
and a little later “eleven”, and then “ten”,
and “nine”, and then “eight” and “seven”
almost together.
B-group
Sue looked out of the window. What
was there to count? There was only a yard
and an old brick wall of the next house.
An old-old ivy-vine was growing on the
brick wall. There were only a few leaves
on it.
“What is it, dear?” asked Sue.
“Six”, said Johnsy. “They’re all falling
faster now. Three days ago, there were al-
most a hundred. There goes another one.
There are only five left now”.
“Five what? Tell me’.
“Leaves. On the ivy-vine. When the last
one falls, I must go, too. I’ve known that
for three days. Didn’t the doctor tell you?”
“Oh, I never heard of such a nonsense”,
said Sue. “The doctor told me this morn-
ing that your chances for getting well were
ten to one! Try to take some soup right
now and let me draw my pictures”.
“No, I don’t want any soup. There are
only four now. I want to see the last one
fall before it gets dark. Then, I’ll go, too”.
C-group
“Try to sleep”, said Sue. “I must call
Behrman up to be my model”.
Old Behrman was a painter who lived
on the ground floor in the same house.
He was over sixty. He was a failure in art,
but he still hoped to paint a masterpiece.
E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E
He earned a little by serving as a model to
those young painters who could not pay
the price of a professional.
Sue found Behrman in his small room.
She told him about Johnsy’s illness.
“She thinks that she will die when the
last leaf falls from the old tree on the wall
of the next house”.
Johnsy was sleeping when they entered
the room. They went to the window and
looked at each other for a moment without
speaking.
When Johnsy opened her eyes the next
morning, there was just one leaf left on the
tree.
“It is the last one”, said Johnsy. “I
thought it would fall during the night.
I heard the wind. It will fall today, and I
shall die at the same time”.
D-group
The day came to its end and even in the
evening there was still one leaf on the ivy-
vine. Then, with the coming of the night,
the north wind began to blow again, and
the rain beat against the windows.
In the morning the girls looked out of
the window. The one ivy leaf was still on the
vine. Johnsy lay for a long time in the bed
looking at it. And then she called Sue and
said, “I’ve been a bad girl. Something has
made that last leaf stay there to show that
we must always hope for the best. You may
bring me a little soup now; I want to eat”.
The doctor came in the afternoon. He
was surprised. In the corridor he said to
Sue, “She’s much better now, she’s getting
well. Now I must see old Behrman on the
ground floor. He has a pneumonia, too.
He’s an old man. There is no hope for him;
but he goes to the hospital today. He will
be more comfortable there.”
The next day the doctor said that
Johnsy was out of danger.
That afternoon Sue came to the bed
where Johnsy lay.
“I have something to tell you, dear”, she
said.
NUMBER 18 2024 19
 Teacher's part
Ending of the story
“Mr. Behrman died of pneumonia to-
day in the hospital. He was ill only two
days. He was found helpless in his room in
the morning of the first day. His shoes and
clothing were very wet, and he was very
cold. They also found a lamp and a lad-
der in the room, some brushes, and some
paints. Now look out of the window, dear,
at the last ivy leaf on the wall. Do you
know why it never moved when the wind
blew? Ah, dear, it’s Behrman’s masterpiece
– he painted it there the night that the last
leaf fell”.
1. What were the names of the main
characters?
Appendix 2
(retrieved from www.islcollective.com )
“Count On Me”
One word per line does not be-
long. Can you find it?
[Verse 1:]
Oh uh-hu
If you ever find yourself stuck
stick in the middle of the sea
I’ll sail the word world to find you
If you ever find yourself lost in
the dark and you can’t can see
I’ll be the this light to guide you
20 NUMBER 18
2. Where did they live?
3. In which month Johnsy became sick?
4. What chance did Johnsy have for life?
5. What kind of help did doctor ask from
Sue?
6. What fantasy/idea did Johnsy believe?
7. What was Behrman?
8. Where did he live?
9. How did Behrman earn his living?
10. What happened next morning with the
ivy-vine?
11. Did Johnsy become better?
12.What did doctor say about Mr.
Behrman?
Find out what who we’re made of
When we are called to help
our friends in for need
Fill in the verbs/ modals
[Chorus:]
You …………. count on me like 1, 2, 3
I’ll ……… there
And I …………. when I ……………… it
I ……………. count on you like 4, 3, 2
You’ll …………… there
‘Cause that’………. what friends ……….
2024 E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E
 Find the opposite of:
enemy
light
never
hello
hate
awake
remember
loose
night
laugh
behind

supposed to …………, oh yeah

Ooooooh, oooohhh yeah, yeah [Chorus:]

[Verse 2:] You’ll always …………. my shoul-

If you’re tossin’ and you’re turnin’ der when you …………
And you just ………… fall asleep I’ll never let ……………., nev-
I’ll ………… a song beside you er …………. goodbye
And if you ever ………. how much You know...
you really ………. to me
Every day I will ………… you [Chorus:]

Oooh You can count on me ‘cause

Find out what we’re ………. of I can count on you
When we are ………… to
help our friends in need

Learn English…. Live English… Love English…

FRIENDS 4EVER

E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E NUMBER 18 2024 21
 “Count On Me” You’ll always have my shoul-
der when you cry
[Verse 1:] I’ll never let go, never say goodbye
Oh uh-huh You know...
If you ever find yourself stuck
in the middle of the sea [Chorus:]
I’ll sail the world to find you You can count on me like 1, 2, 3
If you ever find yourself lost in I’ll be there
the dark and you can’t see And I know when I need it
I’ll be the light to guide you I can count on you like 4, 3, 2
You’ll be there
Find out what we’re made of ‘Cause that’s what friends are sup-
When we are called to help posed to do, oh yeah
our friends in need Ooooooh, oooohhh

[Chorus:] You can count on me ‘cause

You can count on me like 1, 2, 3 I can count on you
I’ll be there
And I know when I need it
I can count on you like 4, 3, 2
You’ll be there “Count On Me”
‘Cause that’s what friends are sup- Match the sentences or phrases
posed to do, oh yeah according to the song.
Ooooooh, oooohhh yeah, yeah
I'll sail the to guide you
[Verse 2:] world
If you’re tossin’ and you’re turnin’ I'll be the light to find you
And you just can’t fall asleep
I’ll sing a song beside you You can a song beside
And if you ever forget how much you
you really mean to me That's what my shoulder
Every day I will remind you friends when you cry

Oooh I'll sing count on me

Find out what we’re made of Every day I will remind
When we are called to help you
our friends in need
You'll always are supposed
[Chorus:] have to do
You can count on me like 1, 2, 3 I'll never 'cause I can
I’ll be there count on you
And I know when I need it
You can let go
I can count on you like 4, 3, 2
You’ll be there count on me
‘Cause that’s what friends are sup-
posed to do, oh yeah
Ooooooh, oooohhh yeah, yeah

22 NUMBER 18 2024 E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E
 adventurous kind
affectionate loving
ambitious loyal
What do you think? What are friends amusing modest
supposed to do? brave neat
calm nice
careful optimistic
charming passionate
communicative patient
compassionate persistent
considerate placid
What is your best friend like? creative polite
determined powerful
discreet practical
dynamic quiet
easygoing reliable
emotional reserved
energetic romantic
enthusiastic self-confident
friendly sensitive
funny shy
generous sincere
gentle sociable
good sympathetic
hard-working thoughtful
helpful tidy
honest tough
humorous unassuming
imaginative understanding
independent warmhearted
intelligent witty

Kyrgyzstan under the administration of

Veronika Kutseva has been teaching
English to speakers of other languages for
over 20 years, covering a diverse range of
learners from preschool to adults in both
public and private sectors of secondary and
college education. She has extensive expe-
rience in conducting communicative meth-
odology training for English teachers across
various rural and urban areas in southern
the Lingua Foundation for Innovative
Education. Veronika serves as a permanent
trainer at the Osh Institute of Education
and is an active member of KG TESOL.
As an alumna of the Open World ex-
change program, Veronika has twice been
awarded a Small Alumni Grant. With this
support, she organized and provided train-
ing and workshops on sustainable devel-
opment and eco-friendly habits for over a
hundred and fifty students and teachers in
rural high schools in the Uzgen district.
Veronika is also a recent alumna of the
IVLP (‘23) program.

E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E NUMBER 18 2024 23
 Health Problems
Aigul Suinalieva
OshSU Teacher Trainer
Level: Elementary
Age: Teenagers/Adults
Time: 90 min.
Learning objectives: By the end of the
lesson, students will be able to:
• acquire and utilize vocabulary re-
lated to discussing health problems
effectively;
• enhance their listening skills by accu-
rately identifying specific information
and expressions related to health;
• express how they feel, wish someone
well and give advice.
Skill focus: An integrated-skill lesson
that includes the practice of listening and
speaking.
Target vocabulary and expressions:
a backache, a cold, a cough, an earache, a
fever, the flu, a headache, a sore throat, a
stomachache, a toothache; What’s wrong?
I’m not feeling well, I feel awful, Take it
easy, Get well soon, I hope you feel better.
Materials: Four Corners 2, Student’s
book Cambridge (Unit 5, Part B on p.48),
worksheets, cards, and pictures.
Procedure:
Lead-in
Stick the pictures on the board with
the captions. Direct students’ attention to
the pictures to set the scene and ask them
to guess the topic of the lesson. Students
guess the topic. Explain that these are pic-
tures of health problems. (Appendix 1)
Pre – listening
Play the audio (Track 65). Have stu-
dents listen and read the captions below
the pictures on the board silently. Point
to one (e.g. sore throat) chorus the word
24 NUMBER 18
3 times. Then move on to the next card,
chorusing 3 times. Go through all the
cards (Appendix 1).
Next, point to a card and elicit the vo-
cabulary “What’s wrong with her?” and say
“She has a sore throat.” and then turn the
card over and stick it back on the board,
blank side showing. Point to the card
again and say “What's wrong with her?”
and elicit the word for the hidden im-
age. Students: “She has a sore throat.” Now
move onto the next card and do the same.
Slowly you will turn all the cards over so
you only have blank cards on the board.
Act out having a cold and have students
guess the problem. Put everyone in pairs
and get them to pile their cards or pic-
tures, face down, on the table. Student A
picks up a card but doesn't show Student B.
Student B asks “What's wrong?” or “What's
the matter with you?” and Student A has
to answer (e.g. “I have a stomachache.”).
Then Student B has to do the gesture (e.g.
for “stomachache”, rub their tummy). If
Student B gets the gesture correctly, s/he
can keep the card for 1 point. The player
with the most points is the winner.
While – listening
Task 1. Stick another pair of pictures
on the board with two women talking
to each other. Direct students’ attention
to the pictures and ask to describe them.
Explain that one woman is a teacher and
the other is her student. Ask students to
listen to the audio about their conver-
sation and answer the question “What’s
wrong with Margaret?” Play the audio
(Track 66).
Then give students the text of the au-
dio, play the audio again line by line
2024 E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E
and have students listen and repeat
(Appendix 2).
Have students practice the conversa-
tion in pairs, then change roles and prac-
tice again. Point out the target expressions
in the conversation (I’m not feeling well. /
Take it easy.). Explain that there are other
ways to say how you feel and wish some-
one well.
Task 2. Give students a list of other
new expressions for saying how you feel.
Play the audio. Have students listen and
read silently (Track 67). Model the activity
with a student. Read the part of one wom-
an, and have a student read the part of an-
other woman. Read the first conversation
substituting “I don’t feel so good” for the
highlighted sentence. Have students prac-
tice the substitution conversations in pairs
(Appendix 3).
Task 3. Direct students’ attention to
the pictures to set the scene. Explain that
these four people are sick. Students will
hear them talking to their friends on the
phone. Point to each picture and have stu-
dents make predictions. What’s wrong
with this person? Play the audio. Have stu-
dents listen and number the pictures
Post – listening
Speaking activity: Role-play (pair
work)
Appendix 1
E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E
In this giving health advice role-play,
students match pictures to health prob-
lems, and health problems to treatments,
and role-play giving health advice as a
doctor.
Write some giving advice language
structures on the board, e.g. You should…/
You should try + -ing. In their pairs, stu-
dents shuffle their picture cards and place
them face down in a pile. Students take
it in turns to turn over a picture card and
act as a patient, saying the health problem
shown in the picture “I have a cold”. The
other student acts as a doctor and gives
health advice to the patient “You should
rest and drink lots of fluids”. When stu-
dents have finished, they role-play some of
their interactions in front of the class.
Audio materials:
1. Level 2 Unit 5 Track 65.mp3
https://disk.yandex.ru/d/owJC5Xe
DD9-1_w
2. Level 2 Unit 5 Track 66.mp3
https://disk.yandex.ru/d/Brsxl3ZPq
ECdKQ
3. Level 2 Unit 5 Track 67.mp3
https://disk.yandex.ru/d/C8cwz3GAd
AUREA
4. Level 2 Unit 5 Track 68.mp3
https://disk.yandex.ru/d/ZWIyhRW
4qcm8tw
NUMBER 18 2024 25
 Appendix 2

Appendix 3

Appendix 4

26 NUMBER 18 2024 E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E
Appendix 5

Aigul Suinalieva is an English teacher at Osh State

University in Osh. She spent most of her career teaching
English at the secondary school #2 in Talas. Currently, she
works as a trainer in the English for Young Professionals
(EYP) and Supporting National English Language
Education Reforms (SNER) projects.

E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E NUMBER 18 2024 27
 Unit 10A: Ecology -
6th grade lesson
Chynara Abdysheva
Bishkek State University, Lingua Foundation for Innovative Education
Level: Elementary
Time required: 2 class periods
Overview:
The lesson plan centers on introduc-
ing students to the concept of ecology and
environmental issues. Its primary goal is
to raise students’ awareness of the signifi-
cance of ecological balance and the neces-
sity to protect the environment. Ecology,
as a topic, holds great importance as it in-
volves studying the interrelationships be-
tween living organisms and their sur-
roundings. During the lesson, students be-
come acquainted with the potential risks
connected with ecological catastrophes,
prompting them to reflect on prevalent
ecological concerns in society, such as air
pollution and deforestation. Additionally,
the lesson plan fosters a sense of responsi-
bility in students, encouraging them to be-
come conscientious global citizens who
prioritize environmental care and active-
ly work towards preserving the planet. As
students learn about ecology and environ-
mental issues, they are empowered to make
positive contributions in safeguarding the
Earth and ensuring a sustainable future.
Objective: By the end of the lesson, stu-
dents will be able to:
• identify various ecological problems
and their potential dangers to the
environment;
• propose solutions and actions to ad-
dress environmental issues in their lo-
cal community;
• practice using nouns with the ending
-tion.
28 NUMBER 18
Skill focus:
The lesson aims to develop students’
reading, listening, and speaking skills
while exploring questions about ecolo-
gy, ecological catastrophes, and ecologi-
cal problems. Additionally, it aims to im-
prove students’ critical thinking and prob-
lem-solving abilities by discussing the po-
tential dangers of ecological problems for
the environment and brainstorming solu-
tions. Finally, the lesson encourages team-
work and collaboration as students work
in pairs and small groups to share ideas on
how to help save the environment.
Materials:
• Балута О.Р., Абдышева Ч.А.,
Назарбекова Г.Д., Жолчиева А.А.
Английский язык. 6 кл.: Учебник для
школ с русским языком обучения. –
Бишкек, 2018. – С.156 – 159.;
• Board, markers / chalk;
• Pictures of ecological problems (water
pollution, air pollution, destruction of
forests, littering, destroying wildlife, ra-
dioactive pollution)
Procedure:
Pre-reading stage (13 min.)
The lesson begins with a brief discus-
sion about ecology, during which students
are encouraged to share their understand-
ing of the term. They work in pairs to dis-
cuss the following questions: a) What is
ecology? What does it study? b) What is a
global ecological catastrophe?
To ensure that students pronounce the
word “catastrophe” correctly, the teacher
2024 E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E
has them repeat the word several times in
chorus and individually. The transcription
of the word [kəˈtæs.trə.fi] can be written
on the board. After the pair discussions,
the teacher gathers students together for
a whole-class discussion. The teacher nei-
ther accepts nor ignores students’ answers
at this point because they will read the
conversation to check their answers.
Next, the teacher pre-teaches some
words such as to interact, soil, to ap-
pear, to take care of, and pollution using
the MPF framework. The teacher ensures
that students have a clear understanding
of the meaning of these words through
various techniques, including Concept
Checking Questions (CCQs). Additionally,
the teacher addresses pronunciation
and word forms to enhance students’
comprehension.
During-reading stage (20 min.)
Students read the text where
Aigul talks about her ecology lesson
(Appendix 1) and compare their answers
with what Aigul learned in class. For stu-
dents who need more support, the teacher
can provide simplified definitions of ecol-
ogy and ecological catastrophe.
Answer:
1. The word ecology comes from Greek
words. Oikos means home and logos
means a study or a science. Ecology
studies the relationships between all
living things on our planet. It also stud-
ies how they interact with climate, wa-
ter and soil which are very important
for life.
2. An ecological catastrophe refers to a se-
rious and dangerous situation in which
the balance of the environment is se-
verely disrupted, leading to negative
consequences for life on the planet.
Next, the teacher has students read the
questions (Appendix 2) before re-read-
ing the text to ensure they understand
the questions. When students answer the
E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E
questions, the teacher walks around to ob-
serve and assist them with language and
answers.
Answer:
1. Life on our planet appeared many bil-
lion years ago.
2. People started living on the planet only
about two million years ago.
3. No, not all people take care of the plan-
et and make it happy to live with them.
Some people don’t understand nature
and don’t care about it.
4. Aigul believes that some people don’t
like nature and don’t understand what
it wants to say, which is why they don’t
take care of it.
As a formative assessment, the teach-
er uses a fun activity called “Two Corners”
to check students’ comprehension of the
text (Appendix 3). All the students gath-
er in the middle of the classroom, and the
teacher designates one corner as “True”
and the other as “False.” The teacher reads
the first statement, and students move
to the corner that corresponds to their
choice. Once everyone has found a corner,
the teacher can ask some students why
they made their choice, leading to a live-
ly discussion across the room. Afterward,
students return to the middle, and the
teacher reads the next statement for them
to respond to.
This interactive activity encourages en-
gagement and critical thinking while al-
lowing the teacher to assess students’ un-
derstanding of the text effectively.
Answer:
1. True
2. False. The word “ecology” actually
comes from the Greek words “Oikos”
(meaning “home”) and “logos” (mean-
ing “study” or “science”), not “Oikos”
and “pathos.”
3. True
4. True
NUMBER 18 2024 29
 5. False. An ecological catastrophe refers to
a serious and negative event that caus-
es significant harm to the environment,
not a positive event that benefits it.
6. True
7. True
Post-reading stage (12 min.)
Students match the pictures of ecolog-
ical problems with the phrases from the
box in exercise 3 on page 157 (Appendix
4). They are encouraged to help one anoth-
er during the matching process.
Next, students work with a partner to
answer the following questions:
• Why can the problems in exercise 3 be
dangerous for the environment?
• What can people do to solve these
problems?
Afterward, students report back to the
class about what they have discussed with
their partner. This interactive activity pro-
motes collaboration and critical thinking
as students explore the potential dangers
of ecological problems and brainstorm
solutions together.
Presentation of grammar: Nouns with
the ending -tion (10 min.)
The teacher begins the lesson by check-
ing if students are familiar with the verbs
provided in the table (Appendix 5). To do
this, the teacher writes the verbs on the
board and asks students to explain their
meanings. If any students have difficulty
identifying the words, the teacher provides
assistance by explaining the meanings.
Afterward, the teacher introduces the
concept that some verbs can be trans-
formed into nouns and demonstrates one
or two examples on the board. Then, the
teacher involves students by asking them
to help create nouns for the remaining
verbs. This activity allows students to prac-
tice forming nouns from verbs while al-
so reinforcing their understanding of the
vocabulary.
30 NUMBER 18
During the lesson, the teacher also
helps students with correct pronunciation
of the words, ensuring that they are clear
on how to say each word accurately. This
comprehensive approach to working with
lexical material encourages active par-
ticipation and understanding among the
students.
Controlled Practice (5 min.)
Students are given sentences to com-
plete, using either a verb or noun from the
table provided (Appendix 6). While stu-
dents work on the task, the teacher moves
around the classroom, observing their
progress. Once students have completed
the exercise, they check their answers with
a partner before doing a whole-class check
together.
Answer:
1. There are a lot of factories that pollute
the air with black smoke.
2. Water pollution can kill all the animals
and people.
3. People produce paper from wood. This
leads to forest destruction.
4. We must try to find a solution to the
ecology problems.
5. People destroy the wild life and that’s
why a lot of animals become extinct.
6. The construction of the new railroad
can be dangerous for the wild animals.
Semi-controlled Practice (10 min.)
Students are divided into small groups
and are provided with pictures from
Appendix 7 to initiate discussions on how
to contribute to saving the planet. The
teacher ensures that the groups are diverse,
mixing students of different proficiency lev-
els, thus promoting collaborative learning
and peer support. For students with low-
er proficiency, the teacher can offer vocabu-
lary lists related to ecological problems and
solutions, including actions such as plant
trees, recycling, reuse plastic bottles, pick up
litter, use cloth bags at the grocery store, turn
2024 E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E
off lights, use low-energy light bulbs, con-
serve water by closing the tap while brush-
ing teeth, avoid deforestation, protect ani-
mals from hunting, and promote peace and
conflict resolution. Each group shares their
ideas and collaboratively generates solu-
tions to address environmental issues.
Finally, the groups present their ideas to
the entire class, encouraging active partic-
ipation and engagement from all students.
Free Practice (20 min.)
Students are divided into small groups
and each group is assigned to a spe-
cific area (city, town, or village). Each
group is provided with a flipchart, mark-
ers or sticky notes and given a checklist
(Appendix 8) to guide them in creating
a poster. Within their small groups, stu-
dents engage in discussions, sharing their
suggestions, and collaboratively design a
poster on how to save the environment in
their respective areas.
Once the posters are completed,
the classroom is transformed into an
Appendix 1
E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E
interactive gallery as the large posters
are displayed around the room. Students
then participate in a gallery walk, mov-
ing around the classroom to visit and view
the other groups’ posters. During this pro-
cess, students can leave comments or pose
questions on sticky notes, offering feed-
back and engaging with the ideas present-
ed by their peers.
After exploring other groups’ post-
ers, students return to their own and read
the comments and questions left by oth-
er groups. They may choose to address the
questions by providing answers or addi-
tional explanations. This activity promotes
interaction and reflection on their own
and others’ ideas.
Finally, the teacher can use a check-
list to assess the variety and creativity of
the ideas presented in each group’s poster.
This formative assessment helps the teach-
er to evaluate students’ understanding and
application of the concepts learned during
the lesson, as well as their ability to collab-
orate effectively in small groups.
NUMBER 18 2024 31
 Appendix 2
1. How long ago did life on our planet appear?
2. When did people start living on the planet?
3. Do all people take care of the planet and make it happy to live with them?
Why or why not?
4. According to Aigul, why do some people not take care of nature?

Appendix 3
Are the statements true or false? Correct false statements.
1. Ecology is the study of the relationships between living things and their environment.
2. The word “ecology” comes from the Greek words “Oikos” and “pathos.”
3. Ecology studies the interactions between living things and climate, water, and soil.
4. Some people don’t take care of nature because they don’t understand it.
5. An ecological catastrophe is a positive event that benefits the environment.
6. If there is an ecological catastrophe, life on the planet can disappear.
7. Air pollution is mentioned as an ecological problem in the conversation.

32 NUMBER 18 2024 E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E
Appendix 4

Appendix 5

E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E NUMBER 18 2024 33
 Appendix 6

Appendix 7

Appendix 8

Poster Assessment Checklist

Title: Saving the Environment in City/Town/Village

Categories Questions Yes/No

Clear Message Is the poster’s message about saving the environment easy
to understand?
Visual Appeal Does the poster look attractive and well-organized?
Are the pictures related to saving the environment?

34 NUMBER 18 2024 E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E
 Content Does the poster have practical ideas for saving the
and Ideas environment?
Are the ideas specific and doable for our area (city, town,
or village)?
Group Work Did students work together to make the poster?
Grammar Are the sentences on the poster written correctly?
Vocabulary Are the words spelled right and used in the right way?
Originality & Are the ideas on the poster creative and new?
Creativity Does the poster look different and interesting?
Impact & Does the poster tell others how important it is to save the
Awareness environment in our area?
Does the poster make people want to help save the
environment?

Development Program. As an alumna,

Chynara Abdysheva has worked as
an English teacher and teacher train-
er at Bishkek State University and Lingua
Foundation for Innovative Education.
She is an alumna of the International
Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) and
the E-Teacher Scholarship Professional
she coordinated the project “Principles
of Communicative Methodology for Pre-
service Teachers in Kyrgyzstan” for the
2014-2015 academic year. This project in-
volved pre-service teachers, public school
teachers, and university mentors, lay-
ing the foundation for future education in
Kyrgyzstan. Additionally, Chynara deliv-
ered a speech on the topic “The New Face
of English in the Kyrgyz Republic” at the
international conference “The Changing
Reality of English in Central Asia” in 2019
in London, UK.
Furthermore, Chynara is a co-author of
national textbooks for grades 5 through 8,
as well as methodological and professional
development training manuals for English
teachers and trainers.

E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E NUMBER 18 2024 35
36 NUMBER 18 2024 E N G L I S H T E A C H E R S ’ R O U N D TA B L E
30 May, 2024.

Katie Miller.