Eigo B Teacher Development Newsletter #3.

21 June 2013

Getting Students Speaking (to each other) in the first 8mins of the lesson!

Every teacher has their tried and true routines for opening their class, warming up their
students (Ss), setting the topic and language focus for the day, and moving into the lesson/
textbook activities. We all know however, that if students are sitting still and silent for much
longer than the first 10mins of the lesson, it’s more likely they will ‘drift off’, fall asleep, get
distracted by cellphones, and not get engaged in English communication when we ask them to.
How then can we get students energized, motivated, focused, and speaking English to each
other within the first 8 minutes of the 90-minute lesson?

Our lessons will vary in terms of language input/output from

STT or TTT? both teacher (T) and student (St). This depends on where we
are in the textbook unit, and our Ss’ levels, etc.
STT
Still, let’s think about how much Teacher talking time (TTT)
TTT
vs Student talking time (STT) you think you usually provide in
T-S, S-T
your lessons? What kinds of TTT and STT are useful?

How much STT + TTT do you think is optimal for language learning and getting Ss engaged in
learning?

What about the kinds of interaction in our classes? Is it mainly T-St, or St-T, or St-St?

What kinds of interaction are more likely to help our students get better at communicating
in English?

Probably, lessons with a lot of varied opportunities for STT, and with less un-useful TTT tend
to have lively, motivated students producing lots of English and generally making an effort to
participate.

While some T-St interaction is necessary for instructing, modeling

language, eliciting answers and ideas, and checking comprehension,
let’s try to move our classes quickly into St-St interaction and STT.

Jenny Morgan, Eigo B Meisei University, 2013.

Here are some ways teachers bring Ss quickly into the lesson
and get them speaking English fast!

1. OPEN CLASS clearly and warmly, and ‘train’ (teach) Ss to respond to you
clearly and naturally. By clearly opening your class you let Ss know it’s time
to put away cellphones, get textbooks, etc. ready for English communication.

2. CALL ATTENDANCE ROLL (or later in your class):

Many teachers have taught their Ss to respond naturally Here!!
H Present!
PPP Here!!

in English to their name: resne

Yes,Here!!
PPP I’m here and I’ve
LESSON PLAN on the board – elicit done my homework!
resne
“What are we going to do today?”
→ Have pairs read it and tell each other, OR have a St read it aloud.

3. WARMER QUESTION(s)/ TASK written on the board

before class → get St-St speaking promptly.

Warmer AIMS:

To warm up Ss’ ears, mouth, brain for using English.

To review last week’s vocab/grammar/ ideas/
textbook content.
To connect previous class work with today’s lesson.
To break the ice (once again) so classmates are talking to each other, interacting with
various partners throughout the year.
To lead into the lesson’s first task- set the context/ begin a new topic/model target
language/pre-teach new vocab.

Jenny Morgan, Eigo B Meisei University, 2013.

materials... ...materials! WARMER IDEAS:
1. Re-drill the Vocab Preview page: e.g. (Success, p.44):

First, T. leads quick lively choral drill (T. says word, class
repeats).
→ Now, move Pairs into conversation-style questions on
the board which recycle this target Vocab.

→ Drill this model conversation off the board e.g. (Success, p.44):
So, what’s your special gift? → Oh, it’s my necklace/ watch/ omamori…
Oh cool, what’s it made of? → I think it’s made of stone and string.
Oh, I see, and who’s it from? → It’s from my best friend, we went to Kyoto.
Nice one, and what do you use it for? → I use it for fashion/ telling time/ good luck.
→ Pairs stand up: “Please ask 3 people, mingle for 3 mins!”
→ Then, move the class into the day’s new task e.g. Conversation/Pairwork/ Interaction.

2. MOVE & SPEAK ACTIVITIES (10-15min review warmers).

 Good way to wake up/ keep students awake. These are good for kinesthetic learners too.
KAITEN SUSHI (Success, p.34). Have Ss stand up in a two
facing lines – they do a speaking task/ dialogue/ short
presentation to the facing partner. At time limit, T. calls “STOP!”
→ Student from Line A moves down to the bottom of the line,
and all Ss in Line A only move up- facing a new partner. → New
pairs repeat the speaking task (3-4 times with various goals).

CLASS MINGLES- prepare and Xerox a very simple Survey Sheet

(e.g. Find someone who…) for each Student (fit 2-3 copies on one
A4, then cut up).
GOAL: to mingle and question many people, and write a different
name and St’s answers on the worksheet.
OR, Dictate 5 review Qs → Ss write Qs in notebooks, then have
whole class stand up mingle and survey 5-6 people.

Jenny Morgan, Eigo B Meisei University, 2013.

 CHINESE WHISPERS (various versions)- A target
sentence gets orally passed along the line, the final Student
shouts out the sentence OR writes it on white board for T. to
check.

BOARD RACES: Make team columns on the board. E.g. 6 teams, Team members run up
the aisles to the board. Target language – e.g.

PLAYGROUND GAMES which ‘trick’ the Ss into speaking English once they are up
laughing and moving. Have whole class stand up → run the game: e.g. ‘Clap and
Count’/ ‘Buzz’/ ‘Concentration’/ any of those playground games/ → then point to
your board questions (3-4 review questions are good), choral drill them → instruct Ss to
ask and answer, talk with 3 different people → After 3-5 mins move into today’s new
activity.

3. SOMETHING VISUAL: Before class, draw a simple (silly) picture on board

related to the topic/review. Task: SS have 1 min to talk together= “Guess,
who is it? What is he doing? Where is he?” → lead in to today’s
conversation context, or reading topic (= treasure/special objects).

4. VISUAL AIDS/ REALIA- magazine pictures/ postcards/ video clips/ PPT photos/ real objects.
→ Have SS talk about them using the prompts/cue/models on
board. e.g. Teacher’s hometown postcards/pics – Give one each
to pairs/groups → Pairs talk, using board Qs: “Guess, what country
is it? What places in the town can you see? What are the people
doing?”

e.g. Class watches a short video clip related to topic → drill target Qs or prompts on the
board → pairs talk about the clip → elicit class feedback to build interest in topic, set the
language context → move into new (textbook) activity.
e.g. Prepare & Show PPT Slide with 20 pictures containing the target vocab/ or Have Ss look
at the Vocab Preview pages and close their book→ Instruct for a memory game, Pairs try to
tell each other as many words/objects/paces they can remember.

Jenny Morgan, Eigo B Meisei University, 2013.

5. HELP CLASS GENERATE VOCAB and IDEAS with MIND-MAPS.
Before class, write up topic headings in columns or mind-maps → get pairs/groups to copy
the topic headings in columns or mind-maps into their notebooks→ Ss talk together and write
5+ words/ideas.
→ give a time limit (2-3 mins) → as pairs
finish, hand out chalk for 6-8 Ss to write one
interesting word/idea onto the Board
mind-map. **Keep this activity pace-y and
dynamic.
→ Now, point to board, choral drill
student-generated ideas/words and target
vocab.
→ Pre-teach + drill any new vocab (use L1
+ L2?) in the textbook → move into the new
textbook tasks.

7. TEACHER STORIES: Tell a very short simple (amusing?) story to review last week’s
topic/grammar, or to provide a model for this week’s
tasks/topic. (*Be aware of too much TTT). So, last weekend I went to my
* Before class, write up 3-4 target Qs on board. Japanese teacher’s house for a
→ Choral drill questions before you tell your story, and lesson. She lives across from
Machida station. First, I went to
check Ss understand the meaning.
the bakery to buy her a cake-
→ T. tells the story → Ss listen and write note the bakery is next to the bank....
answers. (Maybe read it twice?).
→ Pairs talk-try to re-tell the story and make answers.
→ Class feedback, elicit and check answers → move into a student-centred task (maybe based
on your story?); move into the textbook activity.

**SHARE YOUR BEST WARMER IDEAS with your colleagues, pinch ideas,
ask for help, share ideas that really work for our students, adapt the
ideas and make them your own!
 Create your own ‘community of practice’ for your day at Meisei.

Jenny Morgan, Eigo B Meisei University, 2013.