The news offers a wealth of resources for upper-level language learners. Not only are the topics genuine and relevant, they offer conversation points on issues the students may be discussing in their native language. Interest and pre-existing knowledge in their native language improves retention. But how do you decide an article among so many possibilities? How do you invent a lesson that involves more than free conversation on the selected topic?
For starters, a successful lesson requires more than unbiased an lively topic. Human interest pieces or lighter articles on recent events work very well, for example, and often generate the most enthusiasm and discussion among classes. Yet other factors point to equally principal. There's length to mediate, as well as the target language and appropriateness, unprejudiced to name a few factors.
But before arresting on to these factors, it's famous to resolve a successful from a not so successful lesson. Although the usual 30% / 70% talk time between teachers and students holds legal, a class which has students solely discuss a series of questions on the topic would constitute a failed lesson. The students' fluency may gain a lot of practice, but opportunities to learn novel vocabulary, grammar, or speaking strategies are wasted. Similarly, if students expend an entire class working to understand the article line by line, thereby leaving no time to spend the modern material, then the lesson would also be deemed unsuccessful.
So what's needed in a successful lesson? Of course it depends on the focus, whether you want to improve listening, vocabulary, grammar, or some other skill. But we can generally spot the following points:
1. It should offer students novel information on a topic, which they integrate with pre-existing knowledge. grasp global warming as an example. Everyone knows something about the topic, and a news lesson in English adds to that knowledge. This connection aids retention.
2. If the topic isn't familiar, then it should allow students to easily do additional research as preparation before the lesson or as homework. Perhaps they can write a short essay or produce a presentation as a follow-up assignment. In either case, retention is again improved because they fetch to reuse and remember key language from the class.
3. The article should provide opportunities for improvement of one or more skills. If the lesson focuses on reading, students can glide for the gist then scan for key information. These skills secure archaic on a daily basis, in a meeting or classroom, for example. If you want to content vocabulary, students observe novel words, scrutinize them in context, and spend them later in the lesson.
4. expend each skill to reinforce other skills. Let's go wait on to the second point to highlight this last qualification. Students flit for the general understanding, then pair up and orally summarize the information without referring help to the article. Of course they won't remember a lot of details, and may even accumulate some information snide. So they soar the article again, add to their conception, and show the process. Here we have reading and speaking, each supporting the other to glean and confirm information.
With that out of the design, reflect answers to the following questions when selecting an article for your upper-language learners:
Topic Appropriacy:
o Is the topic appropriate for the age group of the class?
o Will students acquire the topic bewitching?
o Could some students accumulate the article offensive or upsetting?
Language and Length:
o Is the article within 200 and 300 words, which will allow reinforcement activities in a 90-minute lesson? With an easier article, you can bump up the word total. A more difficult section requires fewer words.
o Will you need to rewrite portions of the article due to time restrictions or to better target the ability of the students?
o Does the article own keen language? Is it too absorbing, which will result in a line-by-line struggle to understand the part and bog down the drag of the lesson?
o Does the article focus on a useful or famous topic, such as crime or medicine? How about useful grammar components?
Activities:
o Can you imagine activities to state the article, such as a warm up that gets students thinking about the topic or a pre-reading vocabulary match for recent words?
o Will the article lend itself to a debate, discussion, or role play, thereby offering students the chance to incorporate fresh information and language from the article with pre-existing knowledge?
Although article selection is only the first step in conducting an effective lesson based around a news topic, it likely serves as the most notable. An incorrectly selected article could leave students bored if too easy, or frustrated if too hard. If the topic doesn't resonate with their age and interests, the class may be similarly disinterested. The activities will obtain halfheartedly done rather than steal off.
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