giovedì 16 gennaio 2014

Social networks help teenagers improve their speaking skills

Italian parents always complain about the time their teenage children waste in front of a computer screen or on their smartphones. They say their children do not talk anymore, they just text.
Instead of blaming my teenage students I prefer using their "bad habit" to make them improve their English, especially their speaking skills.
A few months ago I published a post about how to use the Internet and Facebook to engage teenage students, today I'd like to share with you a lesson plan which might useful if your students are fond of social networking apps.

Students: Teenagers
Level: A2

Lesson plan
1) Warm-up: Write the following questions on the board
- Do you have a smartphone, PC, I-pod, I-pad?
- What social networks do you know?
- What do you use social networks or apps for?
Students ask and answer the questions in pairs.
TIP: Monitor students to check they are on the task and at the end of the activity ask some students randomly what their partner have told them. (It's a chance to practice the"s" of the third person singular)
ALTERNATIVE ACTIVITY: If you have a small ball like this
Students throw the ball and choose a question to ask to each other.

2) Show students this logotype
and ask them if they know which social network it stands for.
If they know it you can go to step 3 if they don't you can play the hangman like this
3) Prediction: Before showing students this infographic about Anomo (I took it from Metro.uk), 
write down these numbers on the board (I chose them to practice their pronunciation). In groups of 3 students predict in which way they refer to Anomo.
10,000
3m
90%
9 out of 10
540
Then hand out the infographic and ask them to check whether their predictions were correct or not.

4) Now focus students' attention on the expressions:
- ICE-BREAKER GAME
- GET-TO-KNOW-YOU-GAME
from the infographic, elicit their meaning and then show them this picture



5) Students write 5 "get-to-know"questions on 5 different pieces of paper.
Then they fold and put them in a plastic bag. Now shake the bag and ask a student to pick up a paper. S/he will answer a question and decide who will be the next one to reply.

At the end of the lesson students  will have:
- practiced the question forms,
- improved their speaking skill,
- enhanced their rapport with each other.

If you try this lesson plan, please let me know your feedback.








3 commenti:

  1. Wow! That's such an amazing activity, Larissa!
    Would you recommend it for the first day of school?
    Regards from Brazil ( :

    RispondiElimina
  2. I actually added your blog to my favorites and will look forward for more updates. Great Job, Keep it up.
    teen social network

    RispondiElimina