Eigo B Teacher Development, Newsletter #2.

June 2013

Interaction Tasks (end of every Unit in Firsthand).

Teachers have been sharing how they are making the

most of the Interaction task page at the end of each
unit in the Firsthand textbooks. There are some
Extension tasks/ poster templates in the
Supplementary Folders which you could use with
your classes. These could also be used with the
Interaction activity model outlined below.

*Thank you to the teachers (Paul McEntee et al) and

students who provided the photos and lesson ideas. Success, Unit 5, poster template.

INTERACTION TASK GOALS: to allow student-centred, freer practice of topic language; to

develop speaking fluency; to build social interactivity skills.

RATIONALE:

Students (Ss) get to review, re-use the unit’s language.

This is a student-centred activity (students choose what to talk about within the
topic). This hopefully enhances motivation and participation in the classroom.
Ss talk/chat/interact with multiple audiences in the moving lines- repetition improves
oral confidence, fluency and accuracy.
Over the semester, students have to communicate with different class mates, this
strengthens classroom rapport (this can make class management issues easier for the
teacher).
End of unit assessment task- teacher and class discuss what the performance criteria
are: e.g. Speaker had a loud, clear voice/ eye contact/ ideas and content well-
prepared & speaker talked for 1-2mins/ Listener shadowed well, or gave reactions, or
asked questions at the end (=10% for each unit?).

Time allocation- some teachers recommend allowing at least 25-30 mins for the whole
Interaction page procedure: preparation→ arranging classroom → the interaction speaking
activities. Look at the photos to get an idea how to run the Interaction cycle (Based on
Success, Unit 3, How to have a happy, healthy life, p.34). Jenny Morgan, Eigo B Meisei University, 2013.
1. Warm-ups, Lead-in with strong clear Board work.

Have students prepare notes for

homework in the previous week
(e.g. p.34 Success).
Have pairs do some quick warm-up
together to get St-St interaction
happening promptly.
This week, preview the target
language, choral drill Models – prime
and prepare students for WHAT to say,
HOW to have a conversation/ interaction.
Use the CD-20 to provide Language Models (top of p.34): Have pairs work together to
guess the missing words → play CD, Ss write/check the missing words → pairs check
answers → Play CD again, pause and drill sentences- this primes Ss for speaking task.
Think Time- allocate time for Ss to finish preparing notes for ‘a healthy life, a happy life’.

2. Instruct orally about the Interaction activity (based on p. 34 Firsthand Success) AND Model
the activity via clear Board work. SAY: “Let’s talk in groups of 6-8 people. Half are
Speakers- half are Listeners. Remember- speakers must greet, open and close the
conversation (Hi, how’s it going? What’s new? → Partner answers). Listeners must react
(Oh really?/ I see/ Wow, that’s cool!), ask a question at the end.”

Jenny Morgan, Eigo B Meisei University, 2013.

3. Setting up the classroom (allow 5mins). Have students move tables as needed to create
clear space for groups of moving lines.

4. ACTION! The Speaking Interaction Activity: Make Groups of 6/8. Emphasize the
importance of co-ordination and group rhythm. Start slowly with one example group and time

it (90 secs). Now, all groups repeat and practice. Keep reducing the time (90 secs→ 70secs→

60secs), so Ss increase their speaking speed. Take it from there! Some teachers did other stuff
- changed the direction/ stood Ss back to back. All in all, the process took 20-25 mins. You
need a lot of energy!

NB: if your Ss are lower level, you can start with them aiming to speak for 90secs, then 70secs
then 50secs-whatever is achievable for your class, and builds Ss’ confidence and speaking
speed/fluency.

Groups of 6/8 Ss around the room- facing each other.

Line A are the first Speakers, Line B are the first Listeners, after the
first 90secs/60secs, Teacher *claps*, they swap roles. After another
90/60secs, Teacher *claps*, a Ss from the Listener-line moves
moves down to the end, all listeners move up to face a new speaker.
- Repeat this cycle for 3 turns.

Jenny Morgan, Eigo B Meisei University, 2013.

 Groups of 6/8 Ss dotted around the classroom; in moving lines of speakers-listeners.

5. Final Wrap-up (5mins):

Conduct whole class feedback to allow Ss to wind-down. Get Ss to comment on what

they heard about the topic (e.g. “What was some interesting advice you heard about
happy-healthy life? Who told you some funny advice?”)
Elicit comments about the presentation- get students to reflect how they felt speaking
English..."was it easier the 2nd/ 3rd time? "
Thank them for their English, tell them it will get easier each time.

*Listen to Prof Paul Nation (NZ) talk about fluency activities in language classes, and the
“4-3-2 activity” which p.34 interaction task is based on.

http://profesorbaker.com/2011/04/02/dr-paul-nation-explains-the-4-3-2-fluency-activity/

Jenny Morgan, Eigo B Meisei University, 2013.