TOEFL: Listening: Short dialogues: Teachers notes

A TOEFL class with lots of speaking!

Part of exam: Listening - short dialogues between two speakers of between two and four lines. Language and skills: Functional language. Skills of prediction and rephrasing of language. Materials: Two or three pictures from this section of a CBT TOEFL test- either as OHPs to project on the board or one photocopy per two students. Four recordings and questions from exam tasks in total, including the ones with pictures. One copy of Dialogue writing worksheet cut into cards. Time: 60 to 75 minutes Preparation: This class can be used to introduce this part of the test for the first time, but TOEFL classes are often reluctant to do this much speaking until they can see the connection to the exam. In that case, it might be best to have students try a four or five questions under exam-style conditions first, as a diagnostic test. NB: Although this class is based on the computer-based test, it is also good preparation for the paper-based test. Procedure: Part one: situation prediction Give out an exam picture or project it onto the board, and tell students it comes from the exam. Ask them to describe it, and then make deductions about it - such as the relationship between the people, how the people feel, where the picture was taken, the topic of the conversation etc. Students listen to the exam task to check their predictions. Hand out the exam question for this recording. Students try the question from what they remember or understood from their first listening and then listen again to check. Provide feedback on the correct answer. Extension: Do the same with a second exam picture and task, but ask students to discuss their deductions in pairs before listening to the cassette. Part two: language prediction 1 Give out another picture and agree on the relationship, setting or topic as a class. Make notes of this on the board. Give out the exam task for this picture. Ask students which they think is the most likely of the four options for the relationship etc. you decided on. As a class, brainstorm a two to four line dialogue for this answer onto the board. Play the text and ask students whether the answer to the text was the
Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005 Taken from the Exams section in www.onestopenglish.com

same as the one they chose. If so, discuss the differences in the language used in their text and the exam text (more idiomatic or more formal, etc.) If the answers are the same, discuss the differences between the real topic of conversation etc. and the ones they chose. They may still prefer their own dialogue! Part three: language prediction 2 Give out another exam task (with or without picture). Point out (if students havent already noticed) that the text rarely uses the same words as the correct option. Brainstorm as many ways as possible of rephrasing option A (for example, rephrasing It hasnt been completed as its not finished , its half finished, there are still things to do, it needs finishing off etc.) Note: Dont spend too much time discussing small differences in meaning, the important thing is to get at least 5 different sentences. Divide options B, C and D out between the class and ask them to do the same as above. Feedback their answers onto the board and encourage comments from the other groups. Listen to the exam text. Discuss which option was correct and what language was used. Part four: question writing Give out another exam question to the whole class. Put the class into groups of two or three and give out the slips of paper with Option A etc. written on them (see Worksheet). If there are more than eight students, two teams can be given the same option. Tell them to keep which option they have been given secret from the other groups. Ask them to write a two to four line dialogue for which the card they have been given will be the correct answer. Monitor for language, and for whether their option would actually be the correct answer. Let them rehearse the dialogue a couple of times, and then ask them to perform it to the rest of the class. Ask each of the other groups to say which of the four options they think it is. If you wish, you can score points. After all four dialogues, play the real exam text for the question students have been writing for, and discuss the correct answer and the language used.

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005 Taken from the Exams section in www.onestopenglish.com