Teacher Notes (4). Resources for lesson 4

Free resources:

The lesson plans and resources in Raymond Van Neste's blog: Learn English by Thinking Globally are free for teachers and students of English language.  The purpose of the blog is to introduce the Global Goals to students or teachers of English Language as a rich resource for teaching and learning. 

Teacher notes (4) is a resource for lesson 4 of the blog which looks at the Future Simple Verb and related vocabulary, as well as specific information for ESL teachers.   The lesson focuses on Global Goal 3, Ensure Healthy lives.

An article which relates to global goal 3: A Reflection of Suicide and Mental Health in South Sudan is from Raymond Van Neste's blog: https://globalgoalsESL.blogspot.com

Raymond Van Neste                                                                               15/8/2018

A summary of all future lessons on this blog:

All future lessons on this blog will continue to have a text or a story which is related directly to one of the United Nations Global Goals for ss to read and this includes a lesson with target language and vocabulary. 

However, It is no longer possible to include a detailed lesson with every aspect of the full lesson included.  But the main parts which include vocabulary / target language / grammar point / all of these will continue to be included in full.  Summaries, notes and relevant information to guide teachers and students will continue to be included in full.  

Here is a summary of what a proposed ESL lesson might look like:



Task 1: Warmer



Task 2: Put a picture on the board (or a hand out). Discuss the theme. Student feedback.



Task 3: Reading for gist. With a chosen text (the same text that you will use for the target language) the ss will look at and try to relate the text to one question that is written on the board. Also, the ss will look at several highlighted words in the text (vocabulary) and see if they can guess the meaning of these words. All of the highlighted words are elicited and drilled for the ss. Discussion and ss feedback.


Task 4: Detailed reading: Compile 4 - 6, or more questions for the ss, taken from the text which the ss have just read. The ss will read the text for a second time while discussing and thinking about the answers. Feedback.

Task 5: Elicit the TL (target language). One or two chosen sentences (with missing words) are put on to the board from the text (or related sentences that the teacher has chosen which have been made up for the purpose) and the missing words in each sentence are elicited from the ss. The sentences are put on to the board and elicited one by one with the correct pronunciation and a drill.



Task 6: Grammar rules. Here the teacher and ss go through the grammar rules / explanations for the target language that the ss have just learned.



Task 7: Practice

Task 8: Final task: production

Learning Grammar and Vocabulary / Skills 

Notes for Teachers:

Grammar and Vocabulary come under the heading of 'Systems'.   You need these two to be able to do the others, which are: reading / writing / speaking / listening.   With grammar and vocabulary you learn something specific, something concrete.   The other four here are known as skills.  You can't learn skills quickly and there is a need to practice and develop over time.   

When writing a lesson plan and writing your aims for the lesson - for a systems lesson the language I would use is to clarify and use the vocabulary and grammar.  But if you are teaching a skills lesson you wouldn't say 'clarify' you would say: 'practice and develop'.   

A systems framework  allows you to sequence the lesson.  This is a default template to practice the target language.  It's called: PPP: Presentation / Practice / Production. 

Productive Skills: Speaking and writing.  There is no template / framework for these.  See: Eliciting in the ESL Classroom for further information.  Note, with productive skills, these skills are flexible and vast so the teacher can be adventurous here because as stated there is no framework in which they need to be taught.  

Receptive Skills: Reading and listening.  When these skills are a part of a grammar, vocabulary lesson then it's important to remember to help the ss with their vocabulary.  Here the teacher will pre-teach blocking vocabulary.  The teacher can use the MPF sequence as a way of teaching the words that have been chosen as the vocabulary for the lesson.  

What this means is that each word (for vocabulary) should be explained to the ss in it's context so that meaning is clear to the ss.  It is then pronounced before being drilled by the ss, and the form given by the teacher as to whether the word is a verb, or whatever it is.  

Aims

This is a very important part of a lesson.  In fact it could be the most important part.   This is basically where you think you are going in a lesson.  Sometimes they are expressed as aims (what I'm teaching) and sometimes they're expressed as outcomes (what the ss will learn).  It's a matter of personal preference.  

Very important here is to remember that aims are not about what the activity is  during the lesson.   Aims are about why you're doing it.  They are about what the ss are learning and why they are learning it.  Aims answer the question why you're doing something, what is the linguistic purpose of a particular activity or a particular lesson.  

Sub-aims

The main aim is the main thing you want the ss to learn.  But there are also sub-aims.  For example you might want to teach some vocabulary or also you're doing some reading, for example.  You might want to give practice in listening / reading for gist / concentrated reading / listening for specific information.  Skimming and scanning, guessing meaning from context.        

The teacher may want to give practice in production skills: writing and speaking.  This could be grammatical or functional, lexical.  It might be that you just want them to improve their fluency.  These are the kind of wordings that are helpful when you are writing aims.  

Grammar Rules for Lesson 4 - Future Simple Verb 

 

The future tense talks about what hasn't happened yet.    For the future simple put will or shall (or, informally, 'll - which is short for will or shall) in front of the basic form of the verb (will make, shall work and so on).  Examples: 

John's friend will lose patience with him soon.   (Will lose is in the future tense.)

I'll make a cup of tea.  ('ll make is in the future tense.)


John will run at the olympics (will run is in the future tense.)

Forming the simple future:

The simple future tense is made-up of two parts: will / shall + the infinitive without to.  

Positive / affirmative: 

I will go (go is the infinitive without to)

I shall go (go is the infinitive without to)

Examples: 
I will see, I shall see, You will see, He will see, We will see, We shall see, They will see.

Negative:

They will not see (see is the infinitive without to)

They won't see (see is the infinitive without to)      

Note: Won't is a contraction of will not

Examples: I won't see, You won't see, He won't see, We won't see, They won't see

Question / Interrogative:

Will she ask (ask is the infinitive without to)

Examples: Will I see?, Shall I see?, Will you see?, Will he see?, Will we see?, Shall we see?, Will they see?

Interrogative negative:

Won't they try (try is the infinitive without to)

Examples: Won't you see?, Won't he see?, Won't we see?, Won't they see?

Contractions:

I will = I'll

We will = we'll

You will = you'll

He will = he'll

She will = she'll

They will = they'll

Will not = won't 

Information about the use of contractions: 

Contractions are important and generally their importance is underestimated. In normal spoken language you need to use them with confidence.  It's very simple, all that's needed is to add 'll' on to: 'I', 'we', 'you', 'he', 'she', 'they'.   

In speaking its better to say: 'I'll read this book', and not: 'I will read this book'.  Although both ways are correct. 

If I say I will in normal conversation, it can sound very formal.  Spoken English uses the contractions as a way of making the language flow as opposed to too much formality.  

For the negative instead of saying: will not (formal) you can say: won't, which means will not.  

Resources:

What are Global Development Goals?

How to teach the UN's Development Goals and why

Global Goals - the world's largest lesson

Raymond Van Neste's blog: 'Learn English by Thinking Globally'

Global Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages