INSTITUTE OF CONTINUING EDUCATION

Galina Burdeniuc

Creative Performance Approach to

Teaching English
(Seminars in TEFL Methodology)

Chiinu 2009

Best memories to the outstanding

methodologist professor

Zoya Michailovna Zwetkova

Contents
I.

Introduction.

II.

Chapter One: Fundamentals of Creative Performance Approach.

III.

Chapter Two: Peculiarities of Communicative Teaching

IV.

Chapter Three: Organizing Students Activity in Class Communicatively..

V.

Chapter Four: Algorithm of Teaching Speaking through CPA Principle.

VI.

Chapter Five: Teaching Reading Communicatively.

VII.

Chapter Six: Teaching Listening Communicatively

VIII.

Conclusion.

IX.

Supplement

Course Design
This book attempts to investigate and sharpen our definition of communicative
to consider the implications this has for the classroom and, finally, to suggest ways of
exploiting the creative potential of learners to give them a clearer notion of what it is to
communicate with a speaker of another language.
In the 1960s it was often stated that the objective of any FL Course was to make
the stt use that language with the proficiency and fluency of a native.
Mary Finnochiaro says: A well designed curriculum should reflect realistic
objectives starting from the knowledge and skills the learners for whom the
curriculum is intended need in their immediate future, and how much one can
reasonably hope to accomplish in the time available.
3

The primary objective in todays program is to make students understand and

produce language which is not only correct but appropriate in the varied functions
which language serves in real life definable purposes.
G. H. Widowson (1979) points out this new trend in TEFL, usage becomes only
one aspect of performance, namely, that aspect which shows the extent to which the
learner has acquired the linguistic rules use in another aspect of performance which
shows the extent to which the learner is able to employ the already acquired linguistic
rules for effective communication.
In order to further improve our teaching activity and to be able to provide the
student with more effective types of exercises and activities meant to enhance both
their motivation and their communicative abilities, some theoretical information is
absolutely necessary.
The course includes the necessary information on six general topics to provide the
students with the material they will use in their practical creations during seminars.
Each topic is meant for six class hours. The students are to acquire the theoretical and
practical material, and create their own practical materials for a credit. Knowledge of
methodology, unusual ideas, creativity, and enthusiasm will be greatly encouraged. The
average mark for creative works on each topic will constitute a part of the final test at
the end of the semester.

Every job is a selfportrait of the person

who did it.
Autograph your work
with excellence.

I keep six honest servingmen. They taught me all I

know. Their names are: What,
and Why, and Where, and
When, and How, and Where,
and who.
(Rudyard Kipling)

Introduction
We will speak about methodological competence of university teachers which is
an indispensable ingredient of a professional. A professional knows that teaching,
irrespective of the subject or discipline taught, is done not in the manner of an effective
in-put followed up by checking and assessment, but by focusing on the development of
the cognitive interest to research, personal finding. In other words, every teacher
must teach students how to learn.
The UNESCO materials state that a University should become a laboratory whose
mission is to analyze the past, check the present and prepare the alternatives for the
future. The first concern of a humanitarian education is the students active cognitive
outlook. No factual knowledge can substitute it.
We have entered the new era when the fate of our planet fully depends on the
level of our consciousness which is the source of all our ideas, actions, desires and
thoughts.
Speaking about changing instruction methods educationists mention only two
strategies:
1.

general changes must be made in the instructional environment including

the material used;

2.

the activities and the manner of use of materials must be modified.

But these are the outwardly means to perfect the teaching process. The
consciousness of the student remains intact when the teacher provides him with
communicative opportunities only. The students inner world is responding when his
brain has a relevant problem, when he discusses options, makes life-true decisions and
establishes accountability and bears responsibility for what he does while working in a
team.
Not denying the importance of the two strategies mentioned above we must
accentuate the indispensability of the Creative Performance Approach discussed
further. Look at the scheme 1 and give your ideas about it to your partner.

Speech Communication
7

Speech
Communication
Purpose- filling into
gaps

Nature

Giving info

Asking for info

Information
Something
New

Purpose

Nature thoroughly selected

new ideas, vocabulary,
structures

Necessity

Usefulness

Interest

Thrust for the

unknown

Chapter One: Fundamentals of Creative Performance Approach

Scheme 1.

Communication
Giving

Information
Search for sth new

Necessary
Unknown
Interesting
Useful
Asking for
Now let us contemplate a bit. What is communication? What is information? Is
any utterance information?
Conversation
Scheme 2
What to teach?

Topic

Modality

May not know

what

May not know

how

Asking for info

Asking for info

Function

Teaching functions in a coherent creative performance rather than multiple

isolated situations.
Creative Performance Approach in Teaching English
In the century of scientific synthesis a new educational paradigm is being
gradually developed. It challenges reconsideration of approaches to teaching languages
9

as well. Creative Performance Approach (CPA) developed by the staff of the Institute
of Continuing Education represents new insights into learning as an individualized
process, into basic of teaching oral communication springing from the socio-cultural
aspect of authentic information exchange into the nature of teaching-learning goals
and tactics of authentic communication simulation.
As education of today focuses on professionalism- show not what you know but
what you can do- CPA gives a possibility to get in-depth knowledge about the way it is
done in the country whose language they learn. So, what is CPA?
1.

CPA is a theory of a creative personality formation through tasks which

involve development of creativity, active thinking for productive
cognition, research and discovery.

2.

Personal creativity helps reveal natural capacities, the ability to find ones
mission in this life, to set tangible goals and achieve them.

3.

Creative Performance makes the whole learning process at school and

universities a reflective awareness activity chosen not by chance but by a
mind craving for research and discovery.

4.

Creative Performance teaching and learning involve development of

associative, imaginative, and systematic thinking.

What are the Basics of Communicative Creative Performance?

1. Transparency of the activity system (as awareness of the activity inspires
interest).
2. Double objective: a) pedagogical goal for teachers; b) Creative Performance
based goal for students.
3. Springing board- communicative competence of the native speaker.
4. Communicative nature of any speech activity: a) Reading- for new info
derived from the text; b) Listening- for new info derived through listening; c)
Speaking- for new info conveyed through communicative functions.
5. Problem Solving through creative performance.

10

6. Come to grips with the unknown. Should everything or anything be pretaught?

How to encourage active learning on the part of the students? How to create the
environment that will encourage active learning?
This can be accomplished by planning a general program that addresses the
following elements:
1. Plan goals and objectives tailored to naturalistic principles and relevancy;
2. Give the students as many opportunities as possible to read, write, talk, and
listen in various group structures;
3. Allow the students to think and discuss options, make decisions, and establish
accountability for what they do when working with you;
4. Surround the students with print to build a literacy-rich environment;
5. Treat the students with respect and work to empower them as learners;
6. Use interesting and meaningful material and activities.
CPA is one of the possibilities to integrate the process of successful learning. A
new insight into learning process terribly needs development. It was the greatest
mistake of teachers to think that a foreign language should be taught likewise to
children and grown-ups.
Creative Performance Approach represents a deep insight into learning as an
individualized process, on the one hand, into basics of oral communication springing
from the socio- cultural aspect of authentic information exchange, on the other
hand, and lastly, into the nature of teaching-learning goals and tactics of authentic
communication simulation.

Scheme 3.

11

CPA

Individualized
Learning

Socio-cultural
Aspect of
Information
Exchange

Authentic
Communication
Simulation

Individualized learning presupposes creating an atmosphere of experimental

learning allowing the student to conceptualize knowledge, apply it in practice and
reflect it in experience.
Scheme 4

12

1.
A
development
tal
process

8. making
interest
variety
predominant

7. acquiring
the language
incidentally
while actually
thinking

2.Organizatio
n of
information
into a
meaningful
network

LEAR
NING

6. valuing
attitude as
much as
aptitude and
ability

3.
A decision
making
process

4. not just a
matter of
linguistic
knowledge

5. An
emotional
experience
(emphasis on
the process)

In other words, the process of individualized learning comprises eight

interconnected processes.
1. a developmental process (smth new is acquird);
2. meaningful network of knowledge organization (a new system of concepts
appears as a result of personal reorganization of information);
3. a decision-making process (a problem to solve should be the student activity
goal);
4. not just a matter of linguistic knowledge (Its clear that linguistic knowledge is
not enough);
5. an emotional experience (emphasis is laid on the process of solving the
problem and not on learning);
13

6. valuing attitude as much as aptitude and ability (intention, motivation, and

interest);
7. acquiring the language incidentally while actually thinking (Thinking about
what to say and not how to say);
8. making interest, variety predominant.
But whatever the variety exists it will remain a mere variety before it represents a
systemic whole, based on the interaction of outward management of the students
activity and their inward self-management if they have got the necessary tools. And
it is the teacher who should supply them with those tools.
For example, the universally acknowledged phenomenon of interference exists.
Methodology registers it, but very seldom offers a remedy. And the remedy exists in
understanding the synthesized process of human thinking.
The so-called intellectual act presupposes three interconnected stages.
Scheme 5.

To

up to

into

on

till

Intellectual
Act

Program

Matching the
Result in the
Brain

Actualization

Native
prepositions

Foreign
prepositions
Tool for selfmanagement

14

Is it asking for trouble if you ask students for feedback? One of the possibilities to
integrate the process of successful learning is CPA.
CPA gives a possibility to integrate the content based instruction, collaborative
learning and communicative interaction techniques to involve the learner into hear +
see+ do+ speak+ create+ bear+ responsibility activity.
CPA

Content based
instruction

Collaborative learning

Communicative,
interactive technologies

Hear+see+comprehend
+bring home

Do +speak +create

Hear +see +do +speak

+create +bear
responsibility

Individualized learning

Socio-cultural aspect of
information exchange

Authentic
communication
simulation

Lets see how you can come to grips with the unknown. I will teach you some
unknown lexis.
Lehom a Luxor shede ne rut. Luxor i Lemen or e lehom plumor a rose. Rose ut
ra i bor plu. Luxor hov motor. Lemen hava dou diti. Diti gra plumor. Luxor far e
motor na rut. Diti no far e motor a Luxor. Si shed e lehom. Luxor i lemen or lux.
Diti gra cu Pal, zver a Luxor, lux.
A. After you have deciphered text you may use the following key:
- lehom
-rut
- diti
-zver
-si
-or
, - shede
-hov, hava
-far
-bor
- gra
- ne
15

-ha
- e
- i
-lux
-plumor
- ra
- dou.
B. Using the text translate the following:
. .
. . .
C. Now with a partial use of the text write your own text about anyone or
anything.
D. Checking.
As you see:
1. Had a problem;
2. No pre-teaching;
3. Creative performance used;
4. Double objectives: a) teaching vocabulary; b) deciphering an unknown text- a
communicative task for vocabulary.

16

Chapter Two: Peculiarities of Communicative Teaching a Language

It is from the early 1970s onwards that the view of language as something that
operates within society has been gaining ground as the subject of theoretical study.
This has a major influence on the redefinition of the objectives of language study and
on decisions about the appropriate content and methodology for language courses.
Teachers who have been influenced by this more sociological view of language may
use differing classroom techniques, but their objective is the same: to enable students
to communicate effectively with other people who use the foreign language.
Effectiveness includes the concept of social appropriateness or acceptability of
using language to get along with people as well as that of grammatical accuracy
which was the more limited aim of audio-lingualism.
The label communicative probably derives from Dell Hymes work on
communicative competence. This was principally concerned with the native speakers
ability in his or her own language and extended our view of competence in a language
beyond grammar alone and into areas where language is a part of social behaviour. It
is these areas in which the language learner is often under-informed, if it all, and in
which the greatest pitfalls lie. One can, for example, know Italian grammar perfectly,
but be unskilled in judging when to use the formal or the intimate form of you. One
may speak good German, but not know the words that a real German would use to
invite guests to help themselves at table. A classic set of examples by Newmark shows
the attempts of someone who speaks grammatical English, but does not know the
formula to get a light from a stranger Have you fire? Are you a matches
owner? etc.
These last examples concern formulae which are part of the native speakers
competence but not necessarily part of the learners, but it is the area of language
appropriate to differing social situations which provides the greatest challenge to
teacher and learner alike. Situation here includes the speakers
1. relationship with the people he or she is with;
2. the purpose for which he or she is communicating;
3. the channel (spoken, written) they are using for communication;
4. outside circumstances such as noise, emergency, etc..
Once language teachers begin to take seriously the fact that competent speakers
vary in the ways in which they express the same meanings according to the situation,
the complexity of the learners task is understood, particularly in view of the fact that
research into what actually happens among native speakers is at such an early stage.
The risk of forming stereotypes of what happens in, say, a formal business meeting in
France is high, but there is a gain in that we have at least realized the problem.
Students often came out of an audio-lingual course with the false impression that
there was a one-to one correspondence between a grammatical form and a particular
meaning. For example, they might think that the way to ask people to do things in
English is to use the imperative, softened a little where particular politeness is required
by the use of please. The fact is that a request in the form Open the window, please
17

would tend to give offence as too brusque and direct an all but the most close of social
relationships or situations of urgency. Dissatisfaction with this state of affairs made
teachers and course designers eager to follow applied linguistics in finding a new way
of thinking about language in use.
In traditional approach meaningful communication is rather limited while in
Communicative approach it is a central feature. Grammar rules are often explained in
the former and explained only when necessary in the latter. The first requires native
like pronunciation, the second- comprehensible pronunciation because it follows
learners needs and not linguistic complexity.
The target language in the classroom, English in our case, is vehicle for
communication, not just an object to be studied. Activities are done in it and directions
for activities are given in the target language. Operating rules for class are not to speak
the mother tongue and to resort translation only when it is absolutely.
Whenever possible, authentic language (language as it is used in a real context,
by native speakers) is introduced to give students an opportunity to develop survival
strategies. Authentic verbal materials films, videos, TV, audio tapes and cassettes,
and etc. help a non-native speaking teacher. Non-traditional texts advertisements,
operating instructions, etc. find their application as teaching materials. Authentic nonverbal materials, all kinds of artifacts and realia, are brought to class at large. Nonverbal behaviour is used, e.g. body language. All this introduces learners into the
culture of the people who use the language natively.
Traditionally, listening, speaking and accuracy were emphasized while
communicative teaching considers errors and mistakes as a part of learning process
and skills are taught according to learners needs.
Fluency is more important than accuracy errors are tolerated as a part of
learning process, still fluency should not be encouraged at the expense of clear
communication. Teachers control of the classroom involves assistance given while the
instructor circulates watching group work. Correction of mistakes is postponed;
repeated and typical ones are taken care of later.
In the communicative classroom, students have to use the language productively
and receptively, in unrehearsed contexts. When working in pairs, for example, they are
not supposed first to prepare something and then to perform it, they should start
communicating at once.
The ultimate criterion for communicative success is conveying a message the
transmission and receiving of intended meaning. Communicative intent (Morrow)
implies three elements: a) information gap; b) choice; and c) feedback.
Students work with language at a discourse (conversation) or supra-segmental
level (above the sentence), they learn how the sentences are bound together and are not
confined to the word or even sentence level. It reflects real life situation which is not
limited to naming things and stating facts.
Function and not form is the primary framework for organizing and sequencing
lessons; forms are taught through it. One function can have many different forms, and
a variety of linguistic forms are introduced for each function, simpler ones being
presented before more complicated.
18

Curricula are organized around such functions as introductions; greetings and

goodbyes; invitations; apologies and condolences; gratitude; complements and
congratulations; requests, commands, warnings and directions; offers and asking
permission; advice and inventions; pleasure and displeasure; expressing ones opinion.
Communicative classroom is student centered: students are inter-actors
working in pairs, triads, small groups, teams or in a whole group brainstorming,
sharing, discussing, etc., while the teacher is a facilitator (initiator, organizer, advisor
helping to make activities easier and more productive for the students) or a cocommunicator. Cooperative relationships among students are encouraged which gives
students a possibility to negotiate meaning. When students work in subgroups, the
speaking time for each student increases.
One of the basic assumptions of communicative approach is that students will be
more motivated to study a foreign language as they will feel they are learning to do
something useful with the language they study. Students are also given an opportunity
to express their ideas and opinions. This helps students to integrate the foreign
language with their own personality and, thus, to feel more emotionally secure with it.
(Littlewood)
In other words:
1. Teacher must have two goals at a lesson pedagogical and students creative
activity.
2. Every lesson must be a scenario of a purposeful activity.
3. Every activity should make sense for the student.
4. Only solving a true-to-life problem causes motivation, interest.
5. Only team work may result in intention to say something.
6. Teaching vocabulary and structures must take place in the course of
communicative activity (when there is a need for them).
7. A legend, a role, a mask, helps the student relax and be creative.
8. Pre-teach as little as you can. Let the student guess and solve.
9. Any students point of view, idea, suggestion, decision matters.
10.Be serious, respect, and enjoy.

19

Chapter Three: Organizing Students Activity in Class Communicatively.

Psychologists proved that there exist five types of human activity:
1. thinking activity;
2. speaking activity;
3. learning cognitive activity;
4. working activity;
5. playing activity.
They discovered that all these activities have the same structure. Each of them can
be subdivided into actions and operations.
Let us analyze the speech activity and see how a teacher should organize the
students learning activity to teach them speaking through principles of CPA and
communicative teaching.
Scheme 7.
Speaking activity utterance skill synthesis speech exercises sense, what to say?

communication communicative function intention/motivation/interest sets

a goal generalized activity goal algorithm of the teaching process to develop
speaking skills.
Speaking actions sentence habit phonetic/lexical grammar language exercises
Form. How to say? quazi communication performative function intention/

motivation/ interest teacher sets goals concrete teaching goals algorithm of the
teaching process to develop speaking skills.
Speaking operations sounds/ words automatism phonetic/ lexical/ grammar
language exercises Form. How to say? level of words/sounds performative

function intention/motive/ interest teacher sets goals concrete teaching goals

algorithm of the teaching process to develop speaking skills.
Speaking activity

Speaking actions

Speaking operations

utterance

skill synthesis speech exercises sense, what to say?

sentence habit phonetic/lexical grammar language exerc. Form. How to say?

sounds/wordsautomatism phonetic/ lexical/ grammar language ex. Form. How

to say?

20

Speaking activity
utterance

Speaking actions
sentence

Speaking operations sounds/words

Traditional
Approach

Sounds,
Words

Utterance

Communicative
Approach

Sounds,
Words

Utterance

Let us see how it is done. It is done on the basis of algorithm of the students
activity.
What is algorithm?
21

Algorithm is a list of instructions which are carried out in a fixed order to find
the answer to a question, to solve a problem, to achieve a desired result etc.
(Longman dictionary of English, p.27)

Algorithm
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Pedagogical goal teaching function, grammar, lexis;

Creative Performance Student Activity solving a problem;
Teachers Legend;
General objective (interesting, vague, challenging);
Possible solutions Brainstorming;
Concrete objective N1;
Conflict what to do, but do not know how;
Behaviour model (What to do and How to do);
Language Model + Pedagogical goal material necessary to discuss problem
N1;
10.Small group formation uniting individual efforts;
11.Requisite;
12.Students team Speech Activity;
13.Checking up the solutions found (emphasis is made on the result of the
students activity);
14.Solving the next concrete objective.

22

Chapter Four: Algorithm of Teaching Speaking through CPA Principles.

Preliminary notes.
Let us specify what information each point of the algorithm presupposes.
I. As it had been stated before, any activity out of five known (working, playing,
learning, thinking, and speaking), speech activity is subdivided into actions and
operations. If we take an utterance as speech activity continuum it will be subdivided
into sentences which consequently will consist of words and the latter of sounds. All
these are worked at with the help of language and speech exercises. Traditionally, it is
a way from sounds to words then to sentences and utterances. The communicative way
presupposes working at words and grammar in the course of interaction. Exercises
dealing with the structure of the language and pursuing performance goals of the
learner are called language exercises. Those dealing with language as a means of
communication and pursuing a communicative goal (the student is concern with the
problem of what to say) are called speech exercises. This means that he has some
intension to speak, a motivation to relate some new information or to ask for some new
information and it is interesting for him. (See Chapter Three for details)
II. Now let us specify what information each point of the algorithm presupposes.
1. Pedagogical Goal.
A teacher has a two-fold objective:
a) a teaching goal to teach some new material for acquisition (communicative
functions, grammar, lexis, et.)
b) students activity goal (solving a concrete problem) for their creative
performance at the lesson).
So, the teacher and the students have different functions and duties at the lesson.
Students learn: how to solve problems independently, how to work in a team, how
to take into consideration the options of others, how to display their own individuality,
how to apply and adapt their background knowledge to a situation, how to
communicate without the teacher, not to be afraid of mistakes, normally accruing in
self-regulated activity.
The teacher has more functions and duties through all the stages of the algorithm.
The legend he brings to the class must captivate the students imagination,
motivate their activity, increase their interest and desire to participate.
Hence, the general objective coming out of the legend should be of activity
character, include a problem to solve, contain many outcomes and solutions, and be
interesting. Be vaguely put presupposing a number of concrete smaller problems,
which require students creative performance. During brainstorming stage the teacher
acts as a general overseer aiming to coordinate the students activities, so that they
form a coherent progression.
While the students come to solve a concrete objective N1 the teachers roles a
versatile: he explains that a conflict is a situation in which a desired activity cannot be
materialized, because the interlocutors do not know how to do it, they cannot afford it,
they need advice, somebodys approval or permission, etc.
23

During Behaviour Modal Stage he acts as a consultant or advisor, helping where

necessary.
During Language Modal Stage he acts as a language instructor, presents new
language material.
It is a very important stage where the teacher uses all his pedagogical skills to
teach the language material communicatively with the class only in terms of the topic
discussed, not resorting to linguistic problems.
During Personal Efforts Unification Stage (small groups formation) he acts as a
classroom manager responsible for grouping students satisfactorily for practical
purposes. Changing the partners within groups if necessary is his prerogative.
During students activity performance (Team Speech Activity) he acts as a
participant in an activity, as co-communicator, but who does not take the main
initiative. He does not intervene into the proceeding, but lets learning take place
through the students independent activity.
At the Controlling Stage (Checking up) he exercises direct control over the
performance results evacuates, generalizes.
Lastly, he stimulates a new kind of activity passing to the next concrete objective.
A special attention should be paid to Behavior Model Stage and Checking up. The
task: how to solve problem concrete result should be used while the students answer
the teacher; question at checking up stage. If for example, the topic discussed is War
after effects, the teacher saying that wars are pregnant with consequences, asks the
students to brainstorm the possible after-effects.

Brainstor
ming

Economic
Collapse
(ruin)

Population
Impoverishm
ent

Moral
Damage

Occult aftereffects

These become the concrete goals to be solved during a class.

The conflicts for them will be economic collapse there will be much ruin.
What will need money in the first place? There is no money.
Impoverishment How can we help? (Red Cross, Volunteer countries,
Loans)

24

Moral damage it is terrible. But what is it? How does it manifest? (stress,
disparity, aggression, nervous diseases)
Further the teacher gives the Behaviour Model.
Behavioral
Model
What to do?

How to do?

Discuss the most needed

measures.

Write a short list of fields

needed money.

Discuss how impoverishment

manifests itself.

Put down suggestions how to

help.

Discuss what is meant by

moral damage.

Enumerate the most dangerous

ones for the society.

The checking up stage should be based and focused on the result of the activity.
Teacher asks each group (team) to give the result of their discussion. So:
What did you include in your list which needs money first?
What are your suggestions for helping impoverished people?
What do you consider the most dangerous for the society moral damage?
Further, the most significant features of communicative lesson are given.
A communicative lesson should:
1. be presented as a scenario of the development of a definite topic;
2. be based on a general problem to be solved by the students;
3. have a double objective pedagogical and students creative performance
activity;
4. have concrete goals achieved by the students and not ready-made recipe
(method, way, practice) proposed by the teachers;
5. have a teaching and educative value;
6. be effective (TA, Video, Computer);
7. enlarge the students speaking time;
8. contain new information in abundance;
9. be done on any material and develop all sorts of skills and speech activities;
10. be focused on developing communicative skills, elimination of mistakes;
11. give students an ample opportunity to materialize their creative intentions and
to express their individuality.
To precede with the topic Living and Leaving let us design a lesson plan to
teach speaking.
Lesson 1
Teachers objective:
25

1. to teach how to use the Present Perfect Tense in speech;

2. to impart some knowledge to students about the procedure of buying furniture
and to teach how to speak for advice. Concrete Goal One.
Students objectives:
1. to learn how to furnish a house;
2. to learn about the procedure of buying furniture for a room.
As we have stated in above the first step is to create a problem for the students
activity. This problem must be vaguely described and must have a number of concrete
solutions.
Buying Furniture is the general problem, the conflict of which may be different:
we want furniture, but have no money,
we want furniture, but do not know what shop to go,
we want to buy furniture, but we do not know to bring it home,
we want furniture, but do not know how to do it.
Each of these may serve as a separate goal for the lesson, because there are
numerous solutions out of these conflicts.
The first general problem want furniture, but no money may fall into a number
of concrete objectives which may be resolved with the help of the algorithm.
The teacher asks the students where money can be found. Brainstorming. Students
brainstorm:
1. earning money;
2. borrowing from friends;
3. going to the bank;
4. asking parents for money; etc.
Taking these minor solutions one by one, the teacher may drill the new grammar
material (the Present Perfect Tense) and input all the new vocabulary which is needed
for the purpose.
Let us do the whole procedure for the conflict: want furniture, but do not know
how to do it.
Students Activity Algorithm.
Step 1. Problem + conflict.
The teacher starts with the questions:
Have you ever bought furniture for a room in your flat?
What is the first thing we must do to know what furniture we must
buy?(Usually, it is measured the walls of the room we are going to furnish.)
Who knows how one measures the walls of the room?
These and other necessary questions are answered by the whole class.
Step 2. Behavioral Model.
(The teacher must tell the students what to do and how to do it.)
You are a family. Discuss what room you are going to furnish, measure it and
draw it.
26

Step 3. Language Model.

But to be able to choose a room we must know what they are called. The teacher
together with the students names the rooms, put them down on the blackboard or gives
handouts. Besides, he gives other necessary words and structures.
Ex.: Bedroom, lounge, dinning room, kitchen, bathroom, toilet, hall, Sunroom,
study, storeroom, laundry, square metres. We have chosen we have measured.we
have decided to furnish
Have you ever measured a room? Yes, I have. No, I havent.
What is it length? How wide is it? What is the total sum?
Step 4. Small Group Formation.
The teacher unites the individual efforts of the students to form small groups of
two, three, and sometimes more students.
You are a family of two, you of three, and you are four in the family.
Step 5. The requisite.
The teacher may hand out pictures of different plans of the house, sometimes,
furnished or schematic outlines. The requisite stimulates the students imagination,
helps them discuss what they see, give grounds for their choice, etc.
Step 6. Students Activity Performance.
While the students are choosing and measuring their room, the teacher listens to
each group, helps timid students. It is essential to give the students a time limit.
Step 7. Control based on the activity result.
The teacher asks each group about their results using the Present Perfect Tense
and asks what plan of the room they have drawn.
So, have you chosen a room?
Have you measured it?
What room have you measured?
Why have you chosen a kitchen?....etc.
Now all together the students choose a room (a bedroom, for example) and go into
the next small problem. Which shop to go?
Concrete goal II.
Step 1. Problem + Conflict
So, we need furniture for a bedroom, but you do not know what shop to go to, and
there are several shops in the city.
Step 2. Behavioral Model.
In your family distribute the duties among the members to get the necessary
information about the shops. Put down the sources you have used to find out about the
shops. Explain your choice. (It is closer to your house, it is the best, the cheapest
shop)
27

Step 3. Language Model.

You may need some words to enquire about the shops. For example, the
information bureaus, newspaper, classified advertisement, radio announcement, TV
clip, special magazines. While explaining the words the teacher can use different
semantization means: a picture, a description, a synonym, an antonym, a definition,
logical guessing, a scheme, etc.
I have found out about this shop from
I have bought a magazine, a newspaper
I have heard about it over the radio
We have chosen this shop, because
Step 4. Small Groups Formation.
It is essential that the students choose their roles by themselves.
Step 5. The Requisite.
The students find different telephones and addresses of different shops.
Step 6. Students Activity Performance.
Step 7. Checking up.
So, what shop have you chosen?
Why have you chosen it?
Where have you found out about from?
What sources have you tried? etc.
The next step is buying furniture. Concrete Goal III.
Step 1. Problem + Conflict.
You have chosen the furniture for your bedroom, but you are not sure whether
your choice is good.
Step 2. Behavioral Model.
Phone your parents and tell them what you have chosen and ask for advice.
Step 3. Language Model.
Names of furniture for bedroom. For example:
I have chosen .. What can you advise me to buy?
If I were you.I would buy (or have bought) .Why not buy a .I would not
buy, becauseBuy what you have chosenetc..
Step 4. Small Groups Formation
Step 5. The Requisite.
Different samples of furniture for bedrooms.
28

Step 6. Checking up.

What have you bought?
What have your parents advised to buy?
What have you decided to buy?
What furniture have you chosen?
What advise have you received?
What was his/her advice?
The next problem may be ordering a car to deliver your furniture home. Then you
may phone you friend and tell him/ her what you have bought
As we see, the students acquire new vocabulary and structures while
communicating with each other. Thus, the algorithm helps the teacher to organize the
students communicative activity in class and teach them the necessary new material
planned for this very lesson.
There is another example of teaching a topic based on a communicative functions:
Convincing People and Asking For and Giving Advice.
Theme of the lesson Travelling
Teachers Goal:
Functions: 1. convincing people; 2. asking for or giving advice.
Grammar: modal verbs can, may, must, should, need.
Legend:
Dear friends! Vacations are coming. We can spend them in an interesting way.
For example, going somewhere. Let us plan such a trip today.
General Creative Activity Goal:
What should we do to arrange such a trip?
Who should we turn for advice?
Where should we go?
Students Brainstorming:
1. traveling agency;
2. asking parents for advice;
3. do information study;
4. use friends experience.
These are concrete activity goals the class will be trying to achieve.
Concrete Goal I.
So, let us go to a travel agency first.
Problem we need advice how to arrange a trip during vacation.
Conflict there are so many places we can go to, but we dont know what to
choose.
Behavioral model:
What to do?
Address the travel agency and ask for advice where it is better to go for a
vacation.
How to do? Put down or remember what arguments convinced you.
29

Language Model: you will need some formulas to use in the agency.
What can I do for you?
We need some information about
going for a trip, arranging a trip, some places we can go for a vacation
Where can we go?
You may go .Romania, Turkey, England, Italy.
We cannot go to .because.It is.expensive, far
We cannot take children..no transport..
Can you go to.because it is much cheapernearer, interesting..
Yes, we can. No, we cant/ cannot.
Do we need to book a trip right away? No, we neednt.
I think I must discuss it withmy parents/ my roommate/ my friend/ my
teacher..
Excuse me, what can you recommend usto taketo buyto prepare?
While dealing with vocabulary the teacher may introduce many other formulas
(like apologizing), gestures, facial expressions, body language.
Small Group Formation:
Students discuss in pairs and in groups of three.
Requisite:
The students are introduces a list of sightseeing, places, a price list, leafletsetc.
For example: Romania -200 dollars; three hour drive, mineral water; Turkey 300
dollars, six hours drive, warm sea, excellent service; England 2,500 dollars, three
hours flght, interesting sightseeing, attending a Parliament Session; Italy 1,500
Euros, three hours flight, interesting sights, visiting Vatican, swimming in the
Mediterranean Sea.
Students Communication 3 minute talk.
Checking up:
Did the agent convince you?
Where can you go? Why?
Concrete Goal II.
The best advice is usually given by the parents.
Conflict: we plan some interesting trip, but we need some more money for it.
Behavioral Model: What to do?
Speak to your parents for advice what to choose.
How to do? Put down your parents decisions about the lacking money.
Language Model:
Mum, I need your help.
I may go to because it is.
But I need some more money to go to.
Why should you go to ?
Why not to go to .it is much?
You must earn the money you need
You can borrow it from the bank/ friend/ neighbour
You see father I, thought about going to.It is muchmoreless..
30

Yes, you may go to .

No, you cannot go to .because
You should remember that.
Have you booked the trip already?
I think you must
Small Groups Formation:
The teacher divides the class into groups of three students.
Requisite:
The same as in the previous case.
Students Creative Performance.
Checking up:
What did your parents advise you? What should you do about the money?
The students answer: My father (mother) decided: I should earn, borrow/ I must
go to/ I cannot go tobecause
Concrete Goal III. Using friends experience.
Conflict: All the arguments people gave didnt convince us. But a friends
experience may be most convincing.
Behavioral Modal: What? Speak to your friend. How? Remember what he said
you should do.
Language Model:
What do you think I should do?
I think you should not go to because it is .
You may go to,but I
You neednt hurry to book the trip.
You cannot go to .because
Why not buy a trip toIt is much/less/more
But can I go to .? Youve been there, havent you?
Yes, I have. But you must remember that
You may be disappointed, because
You must write them first
Small Groups.
Requisite. Other leaflets.
Students Creative Activity.
Checking up.
What did your friend say you should do?
Where did he advise to go? Why?
Questions.
Evaluation.
Praising students for good ideas, being active. Saying goodbye.
Communicative Approach Teaching.
Traditional teaching was aimed at skills development through mastering the
system of the language. Communicative approach is teaching a language as a means of
communication. Communication is the act of getting information asking between
31

interlocutors. Its basis is the differentiation between pre-communicative and

communicative activities.
Through pre-communicative activities the teacher isolates specific elements of
knowledge or skill which compose communicative ability and provides the learners
with opportunities to practice them separately. The learners are, thus, being trained in
the part skills of communication rather than practicing the total skill to be acquired.
This category includes the majority of learning activities currently to be found in
textbooks and methodological handbooks such as different types of drill or question
and answer practice. These aims above are all to provide learners with a fluent
command of the linguistic system, without actually requiring them to use this system
for communicative purposes. Accordingly, the learners main purpose is to produce
language which is acceptable (i.e. sufficiently accurate or appropriate) rather
than to communicate meanings efficiently.
(Are you a matches owner? Have you fire? Instead of Have you a light?)
This activity can be called quasi-communicative.
This methodological framework can be represented diagrammatically as follows:

Pre-communicative
Activity

Quasicommunicative
activities

Structural
Activities

32

Communicative
activities

Functional
communication
activities

Social interaction
activities

When ever pre-communicative activities occur, their essential function is a

subordinate one: they serve to prepare the learner for later communication. In
effect this is the familiar progression from controlled practice to creative language
use.
However, it is possible to reverse this sequence. The teacher may begin a
teaching unit with a communicative activity (such as a role-play based on a situation
which the learners might expect to encounter).
It is therefore important for the teacher to monitor the kind of feed-back that his
learners receive. In pre-communicative activities he will need to provide feed-back
relating to linguistic form. In communicative activities the teacher will need to
provide communicative feedback.
Pre-communicative activities may be subcategorized as structural activities and
quasi-communicative.
Structural: Have you a dog? Yes, I have. He may not have any dog.
Quasi-communicative: Have you a fire? Are you a matches owner.
(grammatically correct, but no sense)
In communicative activities the learner has to activate and integrate his precommunicative knowledge and skills in order to use them for the communication of
meanings. He is now engaged in practicing the total skill of communication.
Two subcategories are distinguished here functional communication
activities and social interaction activities. Functional the learner is placed in a
situation where he must perform a task by communicating as best he can with
whatever recourses he has available. The criterion for success is practical: how
effectively the task is performed. In social interaction activities, on the one hand, the
learner is required to go beyond what is necessary for simply getting meanings
across. On the other hand, it involves producing speech which is socially
appropriate to specific situations and relationships.
What happens inside a communicative classroom?
33

A communicative approach integrates materials and activities which provide

language guidance, but which simultaneously create a setting in which students can
talk to each other, can develop fluency, and can experiment with and practice language
in use without the restraint imposed by fear of being wrong or by being constantly
corrected by the teacher. These aims are best satisfied in a classroom situation where
the teacher acts as catalyst and informer, directing proceedings without heavily
controlling or dominating them. Students are highly active. By this we do not mean
that they simply verbalize in the form of repetition or answering questions, etc., but
that a fair proportion of available time is given over to activities which take place in
groups or pairs. Each student is responsible for contributing to a greater or lesser
degree to the activity, in order to complete the interactional task set.
There are numerous communicative activities which can be adapted to all levels
of learning from elementary to advanced students. But a number of features are
characteristic of them all.
1. They are student-centered: the teacher directs, but is not the focal point.
2. Language is presented and practiced in as Meaningful a context as possible.
3. Students may be given a framework for language production, but are not told
exactly what to say.
4. The student chooses his own language according to his individual responses to,
of interpretation of, the situation.
5. Since students are free to choose to say what to say, there is always an element
of unpredictability. The recipe may be given to determine which structures,
functions are likely to be produced, but the student is not told exactly what to
say.
6. Choice of language means that there is room for student error.
7. Emphasis is accordingly on fluency.
8. It is hoped that successful completion of the talk will build up the students
confidence. If the teacher stops the student every time he speaks, confidence
will be destroyed and fluency inhibited.
9. Group interaction provides the communicative element in the language
exercise.
10.The activities draw on student personality as an authentic language use.
Communicative language teaching activities at the extension or further practice
stage of a lesson can be divided into a number of categories, all of which widen the
teachers repertoire of teaching methods and the students experience of language as a
means of conveying/ expressing wants, needs, ideas, moods, feelings, information, etc.
They are commonly realized in the classroom as interactional activities relying on, for
instance, an information gap, problem solving, language games, role play, the use of
magazine pictures and other authentic material to generate group and pair work, and
techniques using dramatic devices such as mime, matching exercises, identification
exercises, songs, etc.
The above activities are most applicable to the practice and further practice stages
of a lesson. However, a communicative approach means that techniques for presenting
new language items also focus on meaning, on creating a total situation. Picking out a
34

structure to be studied in isolation without reference to intention, relationship of

speaker to hearer, attitude, and setting can lead to loss of meaning and to the placing of
unnecessary restraints on the use of the language.
Speaking about communicative competence as the final goal of any language
course is not correct. The notion communicative competence was developing its
essence for a long period of time and is still under discussion. Chomsky N. introduced
linguistic (grammar) competence meaning by it knowledge of grammar structures,
orthography, lexis, and pronunciation rules. It can also be called language
competence.
Sherser S. (1977) introduced speech competence; Stern H. (1986) sociolinguistic competence ; stranovedcheskaya competentsia Zhuravleva L., Zinovieva
M., (1985); lingvostranovedcheskaya Kolumbina N., (1986); cultural competence
Doddz (1982); Krasnick N., (1984), etc.
Notwithstanding the ebundance of terms the most generally accepted types of
competencies can be defined as follows:
1.
Language competence a complex of language knowledge habits, skills,
and capabilities, mastering of which allows to create grammatically
correct and lexically appropriate speech as well as to linguistically
correctly interpret the contents of various types of speech in different
spheres of communication.
2.
Speech competence the skill to prognosis the communicative
acceptability and purposefulness of linguistic means chosen for speech
formation, for wrong or inadequate speech behaviour, to define the
communicative meaning and purpose of phrases in communicative
situations, to change speech behaviour in various circumstances of
communication (contractibility), speech figurativeness, speech
observation, speech imagination.
3.
Socio-cultural language competence a unity of three indispensable
conditions: educational socio-cultural knowledge, ability to adequately
apply this knowledge in the act of communication.
4.
Strategic competence ability to use different speech strategies in case of
inadequacy of utterance or wrong grammar usage.
5.
Pedagogical competence a total of general and special knowledge,
habits and skills, provides for the possibility of successful speech activity
under circumstances of intercultural pedagogical communication (social,
every day, political, scientific, educational, etc. communication).
6.
Intercultural language competence an obligatory component of teaching
a competent philologists which embrace many practical courses like a
foreign language, Latin, the theory of translation and, thus, form an
interdisciplinary link in the consciousness of a person.
7.
Socio-linguistic competence the ability to see the correspondence
between the communication act and rules of communication which is
called the contextual adequacy of communication.

35

So, communicative competence represents a definite level of mastering the

language, speech, socio-cultural knowledge, habits and skills allowing a person to
make his speech behaviour communicatively acceptable and expedient and to modify it
depending on functional factors of monolingual or bilingual communication, which
creates a basis for his communicative bicultural development.
Schematically communicative competence can be shown in the following way. It
is a complex umbrella like structure whose complete materialization find itself only
in a native speakers consciousness. So, a researcher of the communicative competence
development in his class should always be precisely aware of what level of this
competence he can achieve and not postulate its complete development.

Language
competence
Speech
competence

Etc.

Sociolinguistic
competence

Communicat
ive
competence

Intercultural
competence

Socio-cultural
competence

Strategic
competence
Pedagogical
competence

36

Preparing students for working in pairs and groups.

Stage 1
Give the students the following questionnaire to assess their attitudes and
expectations in advance of your experiment.
1. Do you prefer to work alone? Why?
2. In what ways is working alone easier?
3. In what ways is working with other easier?
4. What problems do you have when working with others?
5. Do you like to help others? How?
6. Do you like others to help you? In what ways?
7. Do you feel uncomfortable about asking for help? Why?
8. Do you feel uncomfortable about asking others ideas? Why?
Stage 2
Form a demonstration group from the class, with the rest of the class watching
you and the group. Allow the class to ask questions while you are working.
Stage 3
Divide the remainder of the class into groups and set them off on the task.
Observe the groups at work. Be prepared to help if they have difficulties with the
procedure.
Stage 4
When the activity is finished, let the class make a brief evaluation of the activity.
Use a yes/no questionnaire.
1. Did you enjoy working with a small group?
2. Did you find that you learnt more working with a group?
3. Would you like to work this way again?
4. Do you think that the teacher gave you enough assistance and guidance during
the activity?
5. Did you find it easy to decide what to do with your group?
6. Did you feel that one group member dominated the task?
Adjust tasks or seating arrangements, depending on what you see as posing
problems for the groups you observe.

37

If pair and group work has proved to be a disaster because of:

Much noise.

Talk to colleagues.
Talk to students that in real life we
do not shout.

Students are so embarrassed that

they cant talk (absolute silence).

Play a cassette of background

music.

Too long activity students dried

Time the activity. Do not leave it at

the end of the class.

Students did not take it seriously.

(game!)

Present the activity as a serious

learning task.

up.

Teacher and students are nervous!

If you dont believe in what you

are doing, students wont either!

Students could not understand what

they had to do.

Give clear instructions. Pair and

group work involves cooperation and
competition.

Students would not work with each

other.

Dont set your expectations too

high!

Students could not find anything to say.

The task is probably to blame.

Choosing materials for pair and group work.

Are the materials you use suitable?
The textbook says: WORK IN PAIRS.
Is there a real reason why they should?
Is there an information gap?
If not, why should they work in pairs?
Suggestions:
1. Dont ask students to do things that a native speaker would find difficult;
2. Give them a task to perform which is clear and has end product;
3. Make sure students NEED to talk to each other to complete the task; 9create
an info gap that would require cooperation).
38

Classroom management
You want to employ pair and group work successfully?
Basic guidelines:
1. Praise any student who actually speaks English.
2. Dont correct mistakes made in English during the activity (you can deal with
them later)
3. Make the task interesting.
4. Show the students they can do the task in English. ( Much of what students
say in L1 can be expressed in English even in a restricted way.)
5. Explain why you want them to talk to each other in English.
6. In the middle of activity get the class to listen to one pair or group. Do not
say in advance which group it will be.
What does teacher do during pair and group work?
1. When activity begins, go first to the laziest students and get them working.
2. Go to the weakest students, encourage and help them.
3. Dont remain in front of the classroom. Get in the middle where you can hear
most students.
4. Monitor the activity with your eyes and ears.
5. Keep one eye and one ear on the lazy and the unruly. They will work as long
as you watch them.
6. Keep notes of what you hear (not only mistakes, good things as well).

2. Communicative functions
Any communicative act contains at least one communicative function: either to
ask about something or to give some information; to agree or disagree; to thank or
apologize; to request or to refuse; etc.
This means that to teach somebody to communicate inevitably leads to teaching
communicative functions irrespective of the topic discussed. So, the traditional
topical approach to teaching speech should be viewed as a strategy but functional
approach is tactics, means to achieve the goal to be able to communicate.
Communication, as it has been stated earlier, is not just asking and answering
questions. Besides, not every question is a communicative one. The latter is a
question that gives rise to a discussion, difference of opinions, argumentation. By
asking a general or special question we usually expect a precise or concrete answer.
Pay attention to the list of functions below. They can be used for Language
Model in the algorithm.
Language
1. Starting a conversation:
Oh, hello, how are you?
Fine, thanks. And you?
Very well, thank you.
Lovely day, isnt it?
Yes, beautiful, isnt.
39

Commentary: Notice particularly: the word order / tags. When we agree we

normally use a different word with the same meaning (lovely, beautiful).
2. Introducing people:
Mary, this is John. He works / lives..
John, this is Mary. She..
Mary, Id like to meet John.
How do you do. Pleased to meet you.
Commentary: There are lots of different things here depending on the degree of
formality.
3. Inviting people:
Would you like to ..
I wonder if youd like to ..
Yes, thatd be lovely.
Oh, Id love to, but Im afraid I
Commentary: Remember as a general principle, anything that involves an offer/
request/ enquiry etc. has two different possible answers, the positive and the negative.
4. Making suggestions:
What about .ing; Why not.
Why dont you
Thats a good idea.
Commentary: This and the next example apart from positive/ negative
answers, students also need the language to agree/ disagree partially and to suggest
alternatives.
5. Making a plan together:
Shall we.Why dont we..
Wouldnt it be a good idea if we.
Yes, what a good idea. Why dont we.
6. Asking for help:
Excuse me, could you..please/ would you ..please.
Excuse me, could you possibly.please.
Commentary: Differences of age and background are important in this one. It
uses a lot of grammatically difficult constructions which should be explained by why
we use them (when we want to ask for help we say) and not grammatically.
7. Apologizing about something (which is not very serious, but you think is
your fault)
Im so sorryI m sorry
Don worry. Thats quite all right.
Commentary: Notice the difference between these and a casual Sorry (often
answered sorry). These examples contain one stressed word between I and sorry.
8. Asking for, giving and refusing permission:
May I?
Do you mind if I open the window?
Would you mind if I open the window?
Certainly (the answer to May I..)
No, pleases doNo, not at all.
40

Id rather you didnt (+ an excuse)

Id prefer you not to ( + an excuse)
Commentary: This is one of the most difficult. The answers require relatively
difficult grammar and a good deal of imagination for excuses.
9. Showing interest and enthusiasm:
Really? Did you? Can you?
What + uncountable noun. What lovely furniture?
What a + singular noun. What a lovely dress?
Commentary: Intonation is very important. For this reason it can be good fun
with a class, although the grammar (countable and uncountable nouns) is quite
difficult.
10. Asking for and giving advice:
What do you think I should do?
Do you think its a good idea?
Well, it depends. Well, its difficult to say.
Why dont youIf I were you Id .
Have you thought of ..ing.
Thats an excellent idea, thanks very much.
Yes, but dont forget.
Commentary: This is very dependent on who is talking to whom, how old are
they, how well they know each other.
11. Showing that youre annoyed (in a restaurant or shop)
Im sorry, I did ask for.
Im sorry, I have been waiting for 15 minutes.
I would likenow.
Im sorry, this just isnt good enough.
Im sorry, Im afraid Im annoyed now.
Could I speak to the manager in charge, please?
Commentary: The basic rule here is that when we are annoyed we stress a word
which is not normally stressed. The phrases at the end are, of course, very strong and
may sound odd from a foreigner. They should certainly only be taught to advanced
students.
12.Agreeing and disagreeing about something (less serious)
What did you think of .I thought it was.
So did I. Thats exactly what I thought myself.
Well, actually, I thought it was.rather/ a bit + negative adjective.
Umm, do you really think so?
Well, no as a matter of fact I didnt.
Oh, well, I dont suppose it matters very much, anyway.
Commentary: This and the next one are difficult, but very important. Remember
that disagreeing is always more difficult than agreeing. Notice especially:
So..Neither.as a very common tactic for agreeing.
13. Agreeing and disagreeing about something (more serious)
There I agree with you completely.
I wouldnt go as far as to say that, but I think.
41

I think thats going a bit too far.

After all, what about
I see your point but you are sure.
I cant entirely agree there Im afraid
Oh, I really cant/couldnt agree with that.
14. Asking for and giving directions:
Excuse me, I wonder if you could tell me if theres a bank near here, please.
Excuse me, could you tell me where the Royal Theatre is?
Im sorry, Im afraid Im a stranger here myself.
Go straight away. Go down/up. Turn left/right.
Its on the left/right/ beside/ next to/ between/ across from/ go past/ on the
corner..
Thank you very much.
Not at all. You cant miss it.
Commentary: Remember, in this case its often very important for the students
to be able to understand instructions given by a native speaker.
Give them a map, let them ask you for places and then give the answers quickly
in the sort of muddled language people often use. Of course, you can also use the
map more conventionally.
15. Asking for and offering things:
Could I have a., please.
Id like a , please.
Would you like a .
Have you any/ a .., please.
Yes, please. No, thank you.
16. Using the telephone (private call):
Oh, hello. Is ..there, please?
Oh, hello. Can I speak to, please?
Just a moment, please.
Can/ could/ I/ you/ take/ leave a message, please?
Ill ring/ call back.
Commentary: Remember how we give numbers in English: 7730 double
seven three oh.
The difference between can/ could/ may/ is important here.
Language on the telephone is very stereotyped. Its easy to write standard
dialogues, but remember to add some noises like oh, too.
16. Using the telephone (a business call)
Good morning, extension six, please.
Im afraid its engaged at the moment.
Would you like to hold on?
No, thank you. Ill call back later.
Perhaps, you could ask. To ring me later.
Thank you. Goodbye.
Commentary: This should only be done with advanced students.
17. Breaking a conversation and keeping in touch (in someones home)
42

Just look at the time. Id no idea it was so late.

I really must be going now, Im afraid.
I really must go Im afraid.
Ill really have to go, Im afraid.
Its been a lovely evening, thank you very much.
Give my regards to
Remember me to
Commentary: Remember, its normal in Britain to say youre going to leave
twice, using two different phrases.
17. Breaking a conversation and keeping in touch (in the street)
Ill have to be going now, Im afraid.
Sorry, I cant stop.
See you later. See you again.
Bye-bye. Cheerio.
Commentary: Collect and discuss different expressions meaning Goodbye.
18. Expressing sympathy:
Oh, haw dreadful/ terrible/ awful
What a terrible shock
What an awful thing to happen.
I am / so/ terribly sorry to hear that.
Well, these things happen, dont they?
Well, things like this happen, dont they.
Commentary: This is very difficult to do naturally, but it is useful in case
students ever need it. The phrases are rather stereotyped.

Appendix B
Common American English Rejoinders
Reassurance that the speaker is being listened to: yes, yeah, uh-huh, hmmm.
Politeness
Thank you.
Youre welcome; Not at all; Dont mention it; Think nothing of it.
Excuse me.
Surely; Certainly; Of course.
Would you like a piece of candy?
Yes, thank you; Yes, thanks; No, thank you; No, thanks; Thanks, I would; Yes,
please; No, thanks. I wouldnt.
May I have a piece of candy?
Certainly; Surely; Yes, of course; Go right away; Help yourself.
Interest
Im going to buy a new car.
Really?; How nice!; Oh, how nice!; You dont say!
Enthusiasm
Im writing a book.
Great!; Thats great!; Wonderful!; Fantastic!; Marvelous!; Terrific.
43

Surprise
John, just won a thousand dollars!
Oh, really!; He did? He won a thousand dollars?
John won a thousand dollars?
What do you know about that!
Disbelief
Hes nearly eighty years old.
No kidding!; I dont believe it!; Impossible!; Incredible!; Thats terrible!; I dont
believe a word you say!; You must be joking!; Nonsense!
Regret
I wont be able to come to the party Saturday night.
Im sorry to hear that!; Thats too bad!
Sympathy
My sister broke her leg yesterday.
Oh, thats too bad!; What a shame!; Thats a shame!; Im sorry to hear that!
Horror
Richard had a heart attack.
Oh, how awful!; Thats terrible!; Thats dreadful!; How terrible!
Agreement
This is a good meal.
Right; Youre right; It is; Yes, it is; It certainly is; It surely is.
You remember Mary, dont you?
Yes, of course; Of course, I do; Why, of course; Certainly; Surely.
Concurrence
I want ice cream.
I do too; So do I.
Shall we go swimming?
Yes, lets; Yes, lets go; Why not; Sure, why not.
I dont like that painting.
Nether do I; I dont either.
Lack of concurrence
Shall we leave now?
No, lets not.
Disagreement
I like the movie.
I didnt!
You didnt see the movie, did you?
Oh, yes, I did.

Exercises to Develop Monological Speech ( one minute talk)

1. Description
a) word
b) picture
c) visual aids
d) reading matter
44

e) listening matter
2. Retelling
a) Close to the text
b) in ones own words
c) gist, summary, main idea
d) text extension
e) text contraction
f) supplying the end/ beginning
3.Making up a story
a) on key words
b) on visual aids
c) audio material
d) according to a plan
e) creating situations on
f) jumbled sentences
g) different ideas on the same structure
h) opinions and evaluation
k) advice on the letters on the editor
4. Speech games.
5. Giving information
a) tickets
b) schedules
c) tables
d) graphs
e) weather forecast
f) theatre programs
g) museum leaflets
h) travelling agency information
k) telephone directory
6. Speaking on a sequence of pictures
a) describing
b) rearrangement of miscellaneous set of pictures telling the whole story
c) a common story by the whole group(each logically follows the previous
speaker describing his picture)
d) supplying the middle of the story when only the first and the last pictures
were shown
e) making up a film
f) giving character sketches
j) a picture, an object is described and everyone guesses or draws it
45

h) making up a story on the words and comparing it with the picture

k) commenting on a mute film or slides
l) talking about self- evident things.

Exercises to Develop a Dialogue

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Logical and illogical questions answers;

Filling information gaps by asking questions;
Dramatization of a ready dialogue;
Turning a monologue into a dialogue and vice versa;
Finding picture differences by asking questions;
Learning a dialogue by heart from a tape by reducing first As part then Bs
one;
7. Getting interview experience;
8. Extending or continuing a set dialogue;
9. Inventing a conversation for characters in a picture;
10.Dramatization a sequence with cue- cards;
11.Games and problem solving as a warming up;
12.Giving street directions;
13.Giving instructions how to operate with;
14.Discussing pictures for opinions (fashion, pop stars, consumer goods);
15.Personal experience exchange (horoscopes, disasters, plans for the future,
holidays);
16.Press- conference participation;
17.Inferences on headlines and comparing them with the original.

Communicating Abilities
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Use knowledge about language (language patters, structures,

grammatical features and relations, and compound words and phrases);
Interpret in both directions between the target language and native
language between two people;
Speak with fluency, good intonation and little error when talking about
familiar topics;
Ask about, describe and narrate past, present and future actions or
events;
Ask for and offer explanations of specific detail in meaning;
Maintain a short conversation showing an ability to move between
topics, and express feeling and opinions in simple terms;
Use simple descriptive language to make brief statements about
people, or places, and ones own recent experience and future events;
Develop a skill to discuss various topics giving logical arguments;
Skill to render basic facts ignoring details;
Skill to plan ones speech using adequate communicative functions (to
be polite, agreement, etc);

46

11.
12.
13.

Skill the ability to generalize facts and tell them in a short form and
make conclusions;
Give clear instructions and explain how something is done;
Skill the ability to detect and correct ones own mistakes.

Task for individual work.

Make a critical review of this development.
Topic
Arranging a trip
Pedagogical goal
Functions: Suggestions; Asking for help; Agreement and
Disagreement.
Grammar: Modal verbs (must, should). Present Perfect.
Activity goal
The legend: You are very tired at the end of the academic year. You
all have gone through hard times together, you have celebrated the
birthday parties and have marked various occasion together. But
you stayed indoors for so long, that you dream of an outdoor rest.
Finally, you have decided to go for a trip.
General goal
Let us arrange a short trip in the best possible way.
Brainstorming
Instruction: In the of 3-4 discuss what we need to arrange a short
activity
trip in the best way.
Concrete goals
Suggestions of the students are put down on the blackboard:
1.Place: where to go
2.People: who to invite
3.Equipment, food, clothes: what to take
1.1.Concrete goal 1 Let us discuss the first problem where to go.
Place
1.2.Conflict
You want to go for a walk but do not have much time. There are
only 4 days between the exams; therefore, you should arrange a
one day trip.
1.3.Behaviour
In the groups of 3-4 discuss where people can go for a day trip. Put
model
down the list of places/activities.
1.4.Language
Lets go to.
Lets
model
What about going to?
Thats a good idea!
Why not go to?
Fine!/No objections
Would you care to?
Id love to/ Ill be delighted
Shall we go to
Not me. /I would rather
Thats settled!
Im all for it./ Im against it.
1.5.Organizing
Form the small groups of 3-4 .
small groups
1.6.Requiste
Pictures and photos of people doing various kinds of outdoor
activities: bird watching, fishing on the river bank, hiking,
gardening, hunting in the game-perverse, climbing the mountains,
go on a mountain trip.
1.7.Activity
Discussion
47

1.8.Check Up

2.1.Conrete goal 2
2.2.Conflict
2.3.Behaviour
model

2.4. Language
model

What are the most appropriate places? Forest, mountains, river,

lake, city park.
Where would you like to go? On the mountain trip.
Why?-What are advantages and disadvantages of going on a
mountain trip?
Let us discuss who will go on a mountain trip.
None of the group members has gone on a mountain trip before. It
is dangerous to go without an experienced person or a guide.
(There is a wish but no experience). What would you do?
In the groups of 3-4 discuss what you are going to do.
(Possible answers: we can go on own, invite a guide or someone
experienced).
In case you have a decided to invite a guide: Make up a dialogue
between a student and a guide. How would you invite him and
make interested in the trip. Put down a list of 10 the most
important qualities of guide you would like to have.
Is there anything I can do for you? / What can I do for you? / Need
any help? /
Will you, please,/ Could you? / Will you be so kind as to.
Could you do me a favor/ Could you show me round /
Certainly/ With pleasure/ Most willingly/ I wish I could/ Im afraid
I cant/
Leave it to me/ You wont sorry/ Youll every minute of it/

Well-trained
well-organized
Able to render medical assistance disciplined
Good sense of direction
strong
Knowing how to use a compass
vigorous
Trained to survive without food
composed
Rational
trustworthy
Communicable
responsible
Good sense of humor
inert
Fearless
lacking self reliance
2.5.
Organizing Form the small groups of 3-4 students.
small groups
2.6. Activity
Discussion:
a) to go on your own or to invite a guide;
b) a dialogue between a student and a guide;
c) a list of 10 necessary qualities for a guide.
2.7. Check up
1. What have you decided?
2. Have you invited a guide? Have you done it?
3. What are the most important qualities of a guide? (This
question may lead to further discussion; the list of priorities
of the small groups may be different).
48

3.1.Concrete goal 3 Let us discuss the necessary things you should take with you on
Equipment,
mountain trip.
Clothes and Food.
3.2.Conflict
You want to go light because it is one day trip, but the guide insists
that you should take the equipment, warm clothes and food.
3.3.Behaviour
In the groups of 3-4 discuss and choose the things you cant do
model
without on a mountain trip. Remember, they should not be heavy.
Make a list. Why have you chosen those things?
3.4.Language
I think/ I firmly believe that/ It is absolutely necessary/
model
I agree with you/ I dont agree with you/ I cant agree with
you/ You are absolutely right/ I couldnt agree more/ Thats
what I meant/ Just in case/ To be on the safe side/ Id
rather/
Plan, compass, survival blanket, survival bag, torch or flashlight,
matches, umbrella, rucksack knife, cellular phone;
Sandals, trainers, proper walking boots, water proof jacket,
sweater, leather jacket, cap, 2 T-shirts, French perfume;
Rations, chocolate, raisins, sandwiches, boiled eggs, 1 kg of
tomatoes, grilled chicken, mineral water, orange juice, spirits,
chewing gum.
3.5.Organizing
Form the and small groups of 3-4.
small groups
3.6.Requisity
Pictures and photos of the tourists equipment, food and clothes.
Plastic toy-models of various kinds of food.
3.7.Activity
Discussion: a. What things are absolutely indispensable?
b. List of things.
3.8.Check Up
What things do you consider indispensable on one day trip?
Why have you chosen those things?
Compare the lists of indispensable things made by groups and
discuss them.
Generalizing
Summing Up:
What should bear in mind setting out for a mountain trip?
Has it been hard to invite the guide? How have you done it?
Have we taken into account all we need on a trip? What about the
weather forecast?
What precautions should be observed when we set out for a
mountain trip?
Home task
Home task:
1.Learn the phrase of suggestions, asking a favor, agreement,
Post-conversation
disagreement.
activity
2.Write a later to your future son/daughter, suggesting him/her
indispensable things that should be taken to mountain trip and the
precautions he/she should take.

49

Chapter Five: Teaching Reading Communicatively.

Read why?
Read what?

Pleasure

Study

Work

50

Survival

Pleasure

Magazines
Holiday brochures
Letters from friends

Literature
Novels
Plays, poetry

Headlines
Newspapers
Photographs
Captions

Study

Literature
Novels
Plays
poetry

Glossaries
Bibliographies
Catalogues
Abstracts
Dictionaries
Text books
Indexes

Charts
Diagrams
Reference works
Graphs

Work

Charts
Diagrams
Reference works
Graphs

Reports articles
Catalogues
Notice boards
Professional journals
Advertisements
Business letters
Workshop manuals

51

Job adverts
Instructions for use
Contracts
Phone directories

Survival

Job adverts
Instructions for use
Contracts
Phone directories

Forms official notices

Bills and receipts
Label directions
Bus/train timetables
Place names
Street signs

Headlines
Newspapers
Photographs
Captions

What do we read?
Here are the main text-types one usually comes across:
1.
Novels, short stories, tales, other literary texts and passages (e.g.: essays,
diaries, anecdotes, biographies);
2.
Plays;
3.
Poems, limericks, nursery rhymes;
4.
letters, postcards, telegrams, notes;
5.
Newspapers and magazines (headlines, articles, editorials, letters to the
editor, stop press, classified ads, weather forecast, radio/TV theatre
programs);
6.
Specialized articles, reports, reviews, essays, business letters,
summaries, prcis, accounts, pamphlets (political and other);
7.
Handbooks, textbooks, guidebooks;
8.
Recipes;
9.
Advertisements, travel brochures, catalogues;
10.
Puzzles, problems, rules for games;
11.
Instructions, warnings, directions, notices, rules and regulations, posters,
signs (road signs), forms (application forms, landing cards), graffiti,
menus, price lists, tickets;
12.
Comic strips, cartoons and caricatures, legends of maps and pictures;
13.
Statistics, diagrams, flow/pie charts, timetables, maps;
14.
Telephone directories, dictionaries, phrasebooks.
Reading Strategies
1.
Overview (title, page, name, date, edition, contents, page, preface,
forward, purpose, summary, author, photos, plates, maps, diagrams,
tables, graphs, index, appendices, bibliography, references, glossary);
2.
Preview (headlines, subheadings, order of authors ideas, last chapter,
summary, note taking, chapters beginning, summary);

52

3.
4.

In view (study reading style, important pages, note important pages in

margin, on paper, in your notebook);
Review (making notes branched, linear, tables, diagrams, flow charts).

Materials for Reading

1. Literary novels, play, short stories, poems, biographies;
2. Academic journals, textbooks, reports, theses, abstracts, catalogues;
3. Specific reference books, dictionaries, guide books, manuals, cookery
books;
4. Media newspapers, journals, magazines, cartoons, film captions, articles,
phone directions;
5. Commercial packages, instructions, catalogues, advertisements, brochures,
minutes of meetings, business letters;
6. Personal letters, post-cards, notes, telegrams;
7. Public instructions, notices, signs, posters, rules, regulations, telephone
directories, graphs, maps, diagrams, charts, tables, reports, articles, notice
boards.
Reading exercises
1. Answering questions (to, on about);
2. Completion of questions;
3. True, false, not stated;
4. Multiple choice exercises;
5. Note taking for summaries;
6. Jumbled key points;
7. Completion of a table, chart or information;
8. Labeling of a diagram, graph;
9. Filling in the gaps;
10.Interpreting words, discourse markers, referents, or related words;
11.Matching exercises;
12.Cloze passages, words given below;
13.Filling in the blanks;
14.Arranging jumbled sentences into a paragraph;
15.Defining, explaining, giving headings to pictures;
16.Correcting a wrong text;
17.Differentiating facts and opinions.
Reading Comprehension Skills
I. Literal Comprehension Skills
1. Recognizing words and phrases in English Script;
2. Using ones own knowledge of the outside world to make predictions about
and interpret a text;
3. Retrieving information stated in the passage;
4. Distinguishing the main ideas from subsidiary information;
5. Deducing the meaning and use of unknown words;
53

6. Ignoring unknown words/ phrases that are redundant, i.e. contribute nothing
to interpretation;
7. Understanding the meaning and implications of grammatical structures
(reference in time, cause, result, purpose);
8. Recognizing discourse markers (therefore, above, all, finally, more over,
however);
9. Recognizing the function of sentences even when not introduced by discourse
markers (example, definition, paraphrase, conclusion, warning);
10. Understanding relations within the sentences and the text (who, which,
pronouns, it, they, these);
11. Extracting specific information for summary or noting taking;
12. Understand signals of syntax, read punctuation, capitalization;
13. Understand vocabulary in context;
14. Skimming to obtain the gist and recognize the organization of ideas within
the text;
15. Understanding implied information and attitudes;
16. Knowing how to use an index, a table of contents, etc. Understanding layout,
use of headings, etc.
17. Develop a good orientation in resource books;
18. Discussing / informing.
II. Interpretive Comprehension Skills
19.Identifying main ideas;
20. Find the facts/ details/ sequence of events;
21. Make generalizations;
22. Make analogies;
23. Make assumptions;
24. Make inferences;
25. Understanding implicit information;
III. Evaluative Comprehension Skills
26. Determine the authenticy of a message;
27. Determine the relevance and validity of an argument;
28. Distinguish facts and opinions, attitudes;
29. Identify persuasive techniques;
30. Assess logic and strength of arguments;
31. Identify style (tone, structure, intent);
32. Predicting /guessing/ inferring/ evaluating.
Improving Reading Ability
The mechanics of reading
Skillful reading requires these four things of the student:
1. A minimum number of fixations to the line of the selection;
2. Wide eye spans which encompass phrases and thought sequences rather than
isolated words;
54

3. A minimum of lip movements and vocalization;

4. Infrequent recreations;
The length of fixation time and the span of recognition are determined by the
material you are reading. Very detailed material may require several fixations per
line.
Reading Skills
1. Recognizing words and phrases in English script;
2. Using ones own knowledge of the outside world to make predictions about
and interpret a text;
3. Retrieving information stated in the passage;
4. Distinguishing the main ideas from subsidiary information;
5. Deducing the meaning and the use of unknown words; ignoring unknown
words/ phrases that are redundant, i.e. that contribute nothing to
interpretation;
6. Understanding the meaning and implications of grammatical structures , e.g.
cause, result, purpose, reference in time (e.g. verb tenses);
7. Recognition discourse markers: e.g. therefore + conclusion, however +
contrast, that is + paraphrase, e.g.+ example;
8. Recognizing the function of sentences even when not introduced by
discourse markers: e.g. example, definition, paraphrase, conclusion, warning;
9. Understanding relations within the sentence and the text (words that refer
back to a thing or a person mentioned earlier in the sentence or the text, e.g.
which, who, it);
10.Extracting specific information for summary or note taking;
11.Skimming to obtain the gist, and recognize the organization of ideas within
the text;
12.Understanding implied information and attitudes;
13.Knowing how to use an index, a table of contents etc.;
14.Understanding layout, use of headings, etc.;
15.Automatic decoding. Being able to recognize a word at a glance;
16.Previewing and predicting. Giving the text a quick once-over to be able to
guess what is to come;
17.Specifying purpose. Knowing why a text is being read;
18.Identifying genre. Knowing the nature of the text in order to predict what the
form and content will be;
19.Questioning. Asking questions in an inner dialog with the author.
20.Scanning. Looking through a text very rapidly for specific information.
21.Recognizing topics. Finding out what the text is about.
22.Classification of ideas into main topics and details. Categorizing words and
ideas on the basis of their relationships; distinguishing general and specific;
23.Locating topic sentences; identifying where possibly, the sentence in a
passage which is the generalization;
55

24.Stating the main idea of a sentence, paragraph or passage; knowing what the
author is expressing about the topic;
25.Recognizing patterns of relationships; identifying the relationships between
ideas; the overall structure of the text;
26.Identifying and using words which signal the patterns of relationships; Being
able to see connections between ideas by the use of words such as first, then,
later;
27.Inferring the main idea, using patters and other clues;
28.Recognizing and using pronouns, referents, and other lexical equivalents as
clues to cohesion;
29.Guess the meaning of unknown words from the context; using such clues as
knowledge of word parts, syntax, and relationship patterns;
30.Skimming; quickly getting the gist or overview of a passage or book;
31.Paraphrasing; re-stating texts in the readers own words in order to monitor
ones own comprehension;
32.Summarizing; shortening material by retaining and re-stating main ideas and
leaving out details;
33.Drawing conclusions; putting together information from several parts of the
text and inducing new or additional ideas;
34.Drawing inferences and using evidence; reading between the lines; using
evidence in the text to know things that are unstated;
35.Visualizing; picturing, or actually drawing a picture or diagram, of what is
described in the text;
36.Reading critically; Judging the accuracy of a passage with respect to what the
reader already knows; distinguishing fact from opinion;
37.Reading faster; reading fast enough to allow the brain to process the input;
38.Adjusting reading rate according to materials and purpose; being able to
choose speed and strategies needed for the level of comprehension desired.
Reading Styles (Types)
1.
Analogical Reading paying attention to the smallest details of
significance in the text, overcoming all the difficulties of grammar, lexis,
phonetics, style etc., volume limited.
2.
Extensive Reading big volumes of the text read quickly for
information, paying no attention to unknown phenomena in the text.
3.
Receptive Reading rapid, automatic reading that one does when
reading narratives, willing to consider new ideas.
4.
Intensive reading a volume limited text meant for a scrupulous study.
5.
Critical Reading finding answer or faults, judging severely.
6.
Response Reading willing to find an answer.
7.
Skimming Reading to read quickly to get the main ideas.
8.
Gist Reading to get the gist of the text, global ideas.
9.
Surveying Reading paying attention to the whole text omitting details.
10.
Scanning Reading to examine closely often looking for a particular
thing.
56

11.
12.

Searching Reading to look at quickly without careful reading often

looking for a particular thing.
Skipping Reading making jumpily glancing actions from place to
place over the text on a page. Look at the branched scheme of types of
reading:
Types

Analytical

Critical

Response

Intensive

Extensive

Receptive

Global

Skipping

Surveying

Scanning

Searching

Skimming

Gisting

Exercises to Study the Texts Generally

Top-Down Reading Strategies
Ability to use a battery of reading strategies, e.g. scanning skimming,
detecting discourse markers, guessing the meaning of words from context,
activating schemata for the interpretation of text, etc;
Familiarity with discourse type and its conventions: ability to recognize
the rhetorical forms, cohesive devices in written discourse;
Ability to recognize the communicative functions of written discourse
according to form and purpose;
Ability to infer context that is not explicit by using background
knowledge, including cultural references, and to interpret them in a
context of the appropriate cultural schemata;
Ability to detect main ideas, supporting details, new information, old
information, generalizations, presuppositions and link them to format and
visual and graphic cues;
Ability to decode meaning of entire text;
Ability derive the gist from the text;
Ability to decode sentences, to recognize grammatical word clauses,
patterns, rules, and elliptical forms;
Ability to decode lexical items / words;
Ability to discriminate among the distinctive graphemes and orthographic
patterns of English;
57

Bottom up Reading Strategies

General Reading Exercises
1.
Jigsaw Reading the text is cut up and distributed around the class to
groups. Learners have to re-assemble the text through discussion, reading
aloud, logic, grammatical insights, etc. Useful with texts, dialogues,
business letters, informal letters, messages, etc;
2.
Reading for General Understanding the text is presented with say,
one sentence in each paragraph interchanged. Learners have to recognize
the intruder and decide where it should go;
3.
Text and Summarizing group work activity. Each group is given a
piece of text. They have to discuss and summarize the main message of
their text. Teachers can assist with difficult vocabulary. The various
summaries are then assembled in their correct order (either on the board
or orally) and discussed. The full text can then be presented and each
group explain the difficult vocabulary that came up in the group stage;
4.
Text and Vocabulary texts with a heavy vocabulary load can be
problematical. One way round it is to ask the groups to delete any
unknown vocabulary they come across. The next stage is to discuss
whether the piece of vocabulary is essential to the meaning of its
sentence or whether it can be viewed as redundant. Only explain
vocabulary items that are essential to context. It trains students not to be
afraid of difficult vocabulary;
5.
Text Structure . An academic exercise involving recognition of key
statements, supporting sentences, conclusions, etc. Useful when looking
at the function of paragraphing and paragraph linking;
6.
Texts as Internalized Dialogue. Research into discourse has come up
with a useful analysis of a good text. It should reflect the internal
dialogue the author has as part of the writing process. Everything written
is seen as an answer to an internalized question. Using this criterion is
possible to revert the text to its original dialogue. Once explained this
idea is readily adopted by learners and used as a writing process. As a
reading exercise groups attempt to analyze a text and construct the
dialogue. For example: Then we began a discussion about the details of
my agreement. Donner was a penny- saver, and he made me mad by
trying to knock down my payments. So, I set my price higher than usual.
This can be externalized as:
A: What was the discussion about?
B: It was about details.
A: Details of what?
B: Details of my agreement.
A: Who were you taken to?
B: Donner.
A: What do you know about Donner?
58

B: Donner was a penny-saver.

A: What was your reaction to that?
B: It made me mad.
A: So, what did you do?
B: I set my price higher than usual.
It a fairly clumsy example and needs refining, but the germ of idea is there.
7.

Text and Follow Up Activities. Multiple choice: delete the question,

leave the alternatives. Learners construct the questions. Alternatively,
give the questions and one incorrect answer, learners provide the correct
answer and two other alternatives.
8.
Text and Jigsaw Speaking. A very useful exercise practicing
pronunciation, stress, logic, structural insights, etc.
Cut a text into a very short extracts (say 5-8 words per extract).
There should be one extract per student in your group. Issue the extracts telling
students they are secret and must not be shown to the people around them. Insist that
nothing is written. Allow two three minutes for students to memorize their extract.
Stress the importance of punctuation.
The students should then put the text in its correct order by speaking about it.
Nothing is written at this stage. As with a message passed down a line of
people certain elements become distorted/ changed.
Very soon the students are saying things like What did you say?;
I think my sentence is next; Repeat your sentence, please, and other interactive
items.
Teacher can note any mispronunciations etc and deal with them in situ or at
the end.
Once the class has decided on the other they should dictate the individual
utterances in sequence with everyone writing it down. Final element is a comparison
with the original form.
This exercise throws up all sorts of skills work and allows plenty of scope for
the teacher to focus on individual problems of pronunciation, comprehension, stress,
intonation, etc.

Text and Close Exercises

A. Text and Crosswords. Instead of simply deleting the target words
each is replaced with a crossword girl reference 1 across; 13 down etc.
which makes the achievable tasks interdependent and self- helping.
As each word is deduced it is filled in on the crossword grid the
more words on the grid, the more help is obtained.
B. Text and Close Exercises. A text is presented with words deleted.
Below the text is a list of the target words in random order, in phonetic
script. To complete the exercises the learner has to perform some/ all
of the check their answers match a word in the target, transcribe the
59

C.

D.

E.

F.

G.
H.

I.

J.

target list from phonetics into recognizable form, and cross reference
between a dictionary and the text.
Text and Dictionary Skills. A text is presented with words deleted.
Below it is a list of dictionary type definitions in random order, plus
one or two destructors. The destructors are definitions of words which
could fit the deletions if structure changes were made to the text or
they could be words similar in meaning to the target words.
Text and Multiple Choice. Instead of a deletion each space is
replaced with four alternative words one of which is correct.
Learners have to identify the correct alternative. Instead of words the
word form can be given e.g. a) preposition b) adverb c) quantifier
etc. Learners have to identify the form and think of a suitable
alternative.
Text and Wrong Words. A text with no deletions but an incorrect
word instead. Learners have to decide which word is incorrect and
what it should be. Some help can be given as which lines contain
incorrect words. It is very useful for group work exercises and
discussion of perennial problems like the differences between
make/do, since/for, raise/rise, during/while, a/the/an, verb tenses,
structure changes, and etc.
Texts and Spelling. As E expect that instead of an incorrect word, the
correct word is given but mis-spelled. Useful for checking recognition
of common orthographical groupings, spelling of often confused words
etc.
Texts and Anagrams. Instead of deletions learners are given a list of
target words as anagrams. Solve the anagrams, match the words into a
place in the text.
Texts And Crosswords. A crossed grid is given but no clues. Each
square of the grid contains a letter between 1-26. Each number
correlates to a letter of the alphabet. Below the crossword is a grid for
matching numbers to letters. Instead of a deletion in the text the learner
is given a combination of numbers say 11, 15, 3, 9, 25. The next step
is to deduce the missing word say AFTER deduced, numbers can be
decoded and other squares on the grid completed appropriately. (See
Reading Recourses Section 6.)
Texts and Stress. Instead of deletion a stress/ syllable diagram is
given. Below the text is a list of the target words with distracters.
Learners have to match the information in the text to one of the words
given, distinguishing between similar words from context. For
example, comfortable./beautiful./wonderful.
Text Connectors and Modifiers. The main connectors/ modifiers in
English are and, but, or. Each has its own synonyms and
variations. Each connector can be illustrated with a diagram: and
; but ; or . Practice in the use of connectors and
modifiers can be achieved by deleting words/phrases functioning as
60

one of the three above. For example, the enumerating uses of AND
(first, second, next, then, after that, finally). The deletions in a text can
be in the form of the diagrams above.
K. Text Find the Deletion. A text with no apparent deletions. Learners
have to identify where the missing words are and supply them. Help
can be given in the form of target words and distracters. For example,
Getting up early and//// to be late isnt good for ones health.
(going) Learners mark where the missing word should be with a / and
write it at the end of the line.
L. Text and Inverted Forms. All target words are given in their correct
place in the text. The rest of the text is missing. The text is given below
in a jumbled form either line order or word sometimes both.
Learners have to un-jumble the lines and fit them around the target
words, deciding where the target words fit on each line.
M. Text and Punctuation. No missing words but gaps where punctuation
should be. Punctuate accordingly.
N. Text and Pair Work. Each learner is given the same text but with
different words/ information given. They have to question each other
to obtain the missing information.
O. Text and Information Gap. A text with lots of information missing.
Another group has the information needed in the form of an authentic
text a train timetable or such-like. Transfer the information.
P. Texts and American English. This can be done in two ways. The text
is in American English but contains target words /phrases in British
English. Learners have to recognize and change accordingly.
Alternatively, British text containing Americanisms.
Q. Text and Modified Multiple Choice. Similar to D except that in 25%
of the cases no correct alternative is given. Learners have to recognize
and correct accordingly.
R. Text and Word Boundaries. all the text is given but all the spaces are
removed. Learners have to identify word boundaries, orthographical
groupings,
and
etc.
For
example:
NationalWestminsterInsuranceServicesLimited,a
whollyownedsubsidiaryofNatwestBankandmemberoftheBrithishInsura
nceBrokersAssociation,providesacompletebrokingserviceofferingfreei
mpartialadviceandguidancetocostomersonallaspectsofinsurance,inclu
dinglifeinsuranceandpencions.Ifyouwouldlikefurtherdetailsofanyofthef
ollowing,pleaseindicatebytickingtheappropriatebox.
S. Text and Register. A text is given containing deletions with a list of
target phrases below. The target phrases are a mixture of formal/
informal phrases of the same meaning. Learners have to decide from
context the degree of formality required (if any) and select the correct
phrase to match. Another form is to substitute formal phrases with
informal or vice versa, and learners have to recognize and correct
accordingly. Very useful with business letters, etc.
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T. Texts and Grammar. A text is given where instead of deletions, words

are underlined. 50% of the underlined phrases are incorrect. Learners
have to recognize and rectify accordingly. Very good focusing activity
for remedial practice of grammar forms.

1. Find in the text phrases or sentences which mean the same as the following.
2. Find examples of adverbs that are used to intensify adjectives in order to
strengthen the writers opinion (that introduce; that specify)
3. Look at the following sets of words each of which has a similar meaning. The
underlined word in each set has been used in the text. Try to substitute it by
the similar words given and see whether they are appropriate.
Supplies
Providing
Provision
Furnishing
Decided
Resolve
Chosen
Conclude
4. Choose suitable headings out of the given ones.
5. Underline the phrases which: point out; describe; show
6. The text states that How does the author combine these ideas? Which
words are used for the purpose of?
7. Cross out words (phrases, sentences) not mentioned in the text.
8. Express in one word a heavy metal device attached to a metal chain or a
rope.
9. Find phrases which: - introduce the subject of the text; - link together
phrases; - order ideas; - introduce and describe characters.
10.Describe on the correct options
11.Put down proverbs which help to define the message of the text.
12.Single out the words from the given list which may serve as key-words to the
text.
13.Pick out adjectives that prove that the text is not a dry account of events but
that the writer brings some light to the story.
14.Correct the spelling mistakes and compare the meanings of the words.
15.Choose the correct options (multiple choice).
16.Find words and phrases which mean the same.
Some Reading Tasks:
1. text completion;
2. sequencing;
3. prediction
4. table completion;
5. skimming;
6. inferring;
7. evaluating;
8. identifying figurative language;
9. identifying a style and purpose;
62

10.text marking;
11.labeling;
12.segmenting;
13.table construction;
14.scanning;
15.identifying genders;
16.reading to present paragraphs;
17.identifying structures;
18.integrating information;
19.diagram construction;
20.summaries;
21.pro-writing;
22.unknown vocabulary;
23. role playing.
A Difficult Text? Help students by:
more background information;
pre-teach key words the day before;
divide text into short chunks;
sign-post questions for main points;
add discourse markers where helpful;
ask easy questions;
paraphrase difficult ideas;
set easy tasks like matching questions and answers;
praise and encouragement.
After the Early Stages:
1. arrange jumbled sentences into a paragraph;
2. answer the questions;
3. complete the sentences;
4. is the information true, false, or not stated?
5. choose the correct answer from a, b, c, or d.
6. note taking for summary;
7. jumbled key points;
8. complete a table or chart of information;
9. label a diagram;
10.fill in missing information;
11.find a sentence which tells.;
12.find a word which shows;
13.close passages, words given below;
14.fill in the blanks;
15.match questions and answers, jumbled sentences halves;
16.match words to pictures;
17.sort words into lexical sets;
63

18.match sentences to pictures.

Asking Questions Communicatively.
There are three types of questions to the text:
a) questions to the text all wh- questions except why- questions;
b) questions about the text require the students opinion about the text;
c) questions on the text they are communicative questions.
A communicative text gives rise to different opinions which usually results in a
discussion, unprepared speech, argumentation, etc.
Examples:
Reading. John was on his way to school last Friday. He was worried about his
maths. ---- (What was John?)
Actually, he failed last week to control the class. --- (W. was John?)
It was unfair of the teachers to reprimand him. --- (W. was John?)
It was not a janitors duty.
Mohammed woke up, looked out of the window and shivered. The ground was
covered with a thick white blanket. Christmas he muttered to himself. He went
downstairs with his suitcase; phoned for a taxi and as he was waiting allowed himself
to think of sunshine and of his family and smile.
Bad questions Did M. wake up?
Good question Is M. British?
Think of comprehension questions which are aimed at opening a discussion.
Whats the weather like?
What month is it?
Where is M. going?
What sort of country does he normally live in?
Is M. on business, resting, studying, living permanently in the country?
All questions should be focused around the context of debate.
Reading Text Communicatively.
Reading communicatively presupposes a whole number of exercises to be done
in 5 stages aimed at getting the context, its full comprehension without using
dictionaries or pre-teaching. It is the student who performs all the planed activities
without the teachers help.
The 5 stages are:
1. pre-reading;
2. extensive reading;
3. intensive reading;
4. final reading;
5. post- reading.
1.

The pre-reading stage serves to develop a habit to infer and predict the
plot of the text judging only by the title and the picture (if any).

64

2.

The extensive reading stage is done after the students first reading of the
text. It presupposes the general overview of the text and the ability to do
exercises connected with the most conspicuous facts in the text.
3.
The intensive reading stage is aimed at deciphering all the difficult
places in the text: new words, unknown structures, difficult phenomena,
reading in between lines, understanding the implied information.
4.
The final reading stage is focused on training the students to be able to
retell the text.
5.
The post reading stage is a task performed mainly at home in writing or
done in class in the form of a discussion on a topic or problem related to
the text read.
Study the examples given below. The first text Conversation at breakfast
includes exercises on the text as an example of how to make tasks communicative.
CONVERSATION AT BREAKFAST
My mother shouted up the stairs: Billy? Billy! Are you getting up? the third
call in a fairly well-established series of street-cries that graduated from: Are you
awake, Billy? to Its a quarter past nice and you can stay in bed all I care, meaning
twenty to nice and time to get up. I waited until she called If I come up there youll
know about it (a variant of number five, usually If I come up there I shall tip you
out) and then I got up.
I put on the old raincoat I used for a dressing gown, and went downstairs. I was
greeted by the usual breathing noises.
You decided to get up, then, my mother said, slipping easily into the second
series of conversations of the day. My stock replies were Yes, No, Im still in bed,
and snarled to What does it look like? according to my mood. Today I chose Yes
and set down to my boiled egg, stone cold as threatened. This made it a quarter to
nine.
The old man looked up from some invoices and said: And you can start getting
bloody well dressed before you come down in the morning. So far the dialogue was
taking a fairly conventional route and I was tempted to throw in one of the old standbys. Why do you always begin your sentences with an And? Gran another dress
fanatic who always seemed to be fully and even elaborately attired even at two in the
morning when she slunk downstairs after the soda-water, chipped in: He wants to
burn that raincoat, then hell have to get dressed of a morning. One of Grans
peculiarities and she had many, was that she would never address anyone directly but
always went through an intermediary, if necessary some static object such as a
cupboard. Doing the usual decoding I gathered that she was addressing my mother
and that he who should burn the raincoat was the old man, and he who would have to
get dressed a morning was me. I gather, I began, that he who should burn the
raincoat but the old man interrupted:
And what bloody time did you get in night? If you can call it last night. This
bloody morning, more like
65

1. My mother shouted up the stairs:

a) she was upstairs;
b) she was downstairs;
c) she was in the street;
d) she was somewhere in the kitchen;
2. How many times did Mother call Billy
a) 3 times;
b) 5 times;
c) many times;
3. What does it in sentence 5 stand for?
a) how to stay in bed long;
b) what time it is;
c) Ill show you how to disobey;
d) Youll get a slap.
4. At what time did Billy have breakfast?
a) at 20 to 9;
b) at 15 to 9;
c) at 15 past 9;
d) even later.
5. When was the egg boiled?
a) at 15 to 9;
b) at 15 past 9;
c) at 20 to 9;
d) at half past 8.
6. What stands for it in sentence 11?
a) the fact that I am still in bed;
b) how I dare to speak like this;
c) do you (mother) like me up and about?
d) cant you see it for yourself?
7. What was the old man by profession?
a) a teacher;
b) a counter;
c) a tailor;
d) a book-keeper;
e) a trainer.
8. Why might the raincoat be burnt?
a) because I was sitting near the fire;
b) because I was smoking;
c) because the old man was smoking;
d) because the old man was ironing.
66

9. Who came in very late?

a) grandmother;
b) me;
c) my mother;
10. The word bloody means:
a) good;
b) bad;
c) exactly;
d) confounded.
Give examples from the text:
1. Why does the writer use the word street-cries (line tow)?
2. What have cry number five and invariant got in common?
3. Comment on the expression the usual breathing noises (line 8).
4. slipping easily into the second series of conversation of the day(line 910)?
5. What do you think stock replies are (line 10)?
6. Why would Billy say No, I am still in bed (line 10)?
7. What is meant by This made it quarter to nine (line 12)?
8. What do you think one of the old stand-bys means (line 15)?
9. Gran was another dress-fanatic (line 16). Who was the first?
10.Why does the writer say attired instead of dressed in line 17?
11.Gran speaks non-standard English. Can you give tow examples from her
sentence in lines 18-19 (He wants to burn)?
12.When, exactly would Gran talk to a cupboard?
13.This passage shows how the conversation in a particular family reflects the
unsatisfactory nature of their relationship. This is an important theme which
can be dealt with in many different ways. Comment on the way this writer
handles the subject.
Ex. III.
1. How old is Billy?
2. What kind of boy is he?
3. Are the members of the family on good terms?
4. Were the grandparents happy together?
5. What habits do the members of the family possess?
6. Is this a usual or accidental routine of a morning?
7. Are they a well-to-do family?
8. Who is the most educated person in the family?
9. What season is this?
Ex. IV.
What are the words youd like to expand on?
67

1. tip verb.

The table tipped up.

The boat tipped over.
She tipped him out of the room.
To tip smth out of smth.

To tip up to strike lightly;

To give up a tip; (a warning or hint)
If you take my tip.
Tip noun
- a sharp edge to have smth on the tip of the tongue.
- on tiptoe;
- tip-top (Youve done tip-top)

2. stock n. 1) store or goods available for sale distribution or use; to be in

stork; stock list list of smth available

stock tackling examine and make
attr.
2) stock replies, a list of . Ex. Stock sizes in hats.
3) farm animals live-stock; stock-farm; stock- yard; stockbreeder.
4) money stock broker; stock- exchange; stock holder.
Laughing stock.
Stock- still (motionless)
He was robbed lock, stock and barrel = completely (fig)
He was a memory well stocked with facts.
3. snarl to speak in a harsh voice.
4. invoice list of goods sold with the prices charged.
5. to slink to move cautiously.
Sample Reading Passage
Back nestling
Many African mothers carry, or nestle, their babies on their backs. This custom
has advantages for both mother and child. A working mother, who has nobody to
look after the baby, knows he is safe on her back, while her hands are free for her
work. Meanwhile, the baby stays in close contact with his mother and feels warm and
safe. This sense of security may be suddenly broken, however, when the child can no
longer be carried. He may be put down and expected to behave like a grown-up child.
But he has been over-protected for so long through nestling that he now feels very
insecure and may behave like a baby.
Children need freedom and the chance to use their limbs. They need to be able
to observe and explore their environment. They also need to learn how to make and
do things on their own. (1) Therefore even their mothers must carry their babies
everywhere, they should try to set them free whenever possible. (2) Moreover, in the
hot months, the less back-nestling the better.
Many women, (3) however, prefer to carry their children all day long. They feel
the children are safe, sleep longer, keep quieter and do not make a mess! I once
visited a friends eleven-month-old child. Seeing he was restless, I asked the mamanurse to put him down. (4) At first, she didnt want to because she thought the child
would make the room untidy. When she (5) finally agreed, I asked for some kitchen
pots, spoons, unopened tins and boxes since there were no toys to play with. (6)
68

Immediately, the child started examining them one by one. (7) Then, he started
banging the pots and boxes with the spoons. The different sounds fascinated him. (8)
But mama-nurse didnt like the noise or the mess.
I. Pre-reading Stage.
1. Read the title of the text Back-nestling and answer the following questions:
a) What do you think the text may be about?
b) What do you expect to hear?
c) Does back-nestling refer to:
- people in general
- wild animals
- domestic animals
- children
d) What words is back-nestling formed of?
e) What ways of carrying a baby do you know?
2. Read the following words and say what the text may be about:
a) baby
b) nestle
c) mother
d) freedom e) safe
3. Give the definition of back-nestling judging by the following words:
a) baby ____________________
b) back ____________________
c) mother - ____________________
d) a way of carrying - __________________________
4.What mothers carry their babies on their backs?
a) all African mothers
b) some African mothers
c) many African mothers.
5.Make a sentence from these words:
The baby, in, contact, with feels, and, mother, warm, close, safe, stays, his.
6. All these words appear in the text. Mark the stressed syllables:
- environment
- immediately
- meanwhile
- disadvantage
- insecure
- therefore
7. In pairs, discuss the advantages and the disadvantages of back-nestling. Try
to use some of the adjectives given below:
+
Safe
Close contact
Warm
No mess

Freedom
They must use their limbs
Over-protected
69

II. The Extensive Stage.

1. Read the text for the first time and answer the following questions:
a) Were your predictions correct?
b) What is the main idea of the text?
c) Who is the main character of the text? Explain why?
d) Is the title appropriate to the text? Can you give another title?
e) What do you think is the authors opinion concerning back-nestling?
f) What does this text look like?
- a novel
-a scientific re port
- others
- an article
- a fairy tale
g) Which adjectives would you use to describe the authors attitude?
- unconcerned
-worried - upset
- anxious
2. Underline the words related to children and back-nestling, and say what the
other words mean.
a) nestle
c) mother
e) mama-nurse
g) baby
b) freedom
d) mess
f) bang
h) grown-up
3. Find the sentence that tells you that the child feels safe and warm, because he
stays in close contact with his mother.
4. Form all the words written below; underline those that seem to be the keywords of the text.
-mother
-pots
-nestling
- tins
-child
-sounds
-baby
-mess
-limbs
- contact
5. Comment on what you think the underlined words refer to in the passage.
a) This custom has advantages for both mother and child. (line 1)
b) But he has been over-protected (line 7)
c) They should try to set them free (line 13)
d) At first, she didnt want to (line 20)
e) Then he started banging the pots (line 24)
6. Now match the words from the text to words with similar meaning on the
right.
a) safe
1) nestle
b) advantage
2) diverse
c) disordered
3) carry
d) protected
4) different
e) untidy
5) convenience
70

7.
-

Look back at the text and underline the phrases which:

introduce the subject of the text;
introduce a personal opinion;
link together and order ideas;
introduce the conclusion.

8. Go back through the text and underline any words and expressions to do with
mothers, babies. Some of them may be of use in the writing task for this
section. Look at how the words carry and nestle are used in the text. Can you
supply the right word to complete the following sentences:
a) He ____________________ the baby in his arms.
b) The injured were ______________ away on stretches.
c) He hugged her and she ___________ against his chest.
d) He was _______________ a suitcase.
e) I never ________________ much money on me.
III. The Intensive Stage.
1. Read the text for the second time and choose the best answer:
a) environment: surroundings
situation
habitat
atmosphere
b) moreover:
also
to boot
besides
what is more
c) therefore:
consequently
however
accordingly
for that reason
then
d) grown-up:
man
woman
adult
2. The text states that:
1) many mothers carry their babies on their back;
2) children need to be able to observe and explore the environment;
3) mama-nurse does not like the noise or the mess.
How does the writer combine these pieces of information?
Which words are used to introduce contrasting information?
3. Find words or phrases which mean the same as the following:
a) to take care of; to keep an eye on;
71

b)
c)
d)
e)
f)

to set down;
instantly; at once; promptly;
surroundings; medium;
alone; without anyone else, without help;
captivated; charmed; attracted.

4. Look at these phrases. Discuss your interpretation of their meanings with

another student.
a) banging the pots
b) to look after a baby
c) he is safe on her back
d) he has been over-protected.
5. Multiple-choice questions. Decide on the correct options.
a) Carrying the baby on the back is:
- an advantage for both mother and baby;
- a custom;
- good for the baby;
- a lack of insecurity.
b) Many women prefer to carry their children:
- just some hours per day;
- when they need their hands free for their work;
- all day long;
- because they are doing noise and mess.
c) They should try to set them free:
- from time to time;
- sometimes;
- whenever possible;
- when they think it is necessary.
6. Find examples of:
a) adverbs that are used to intensify adjectives, in order to strengthen the
writers opinion;
b) adverbs that introduce or specify information.
7. The text is not dry, factual account. The writer tries to bring some life to the
story and engages the readers interest. Find the passage when the writer
implies his own opinion and attitude in the text.
Example: my friends eleven-month-old child.
8. Look at these prefixes. Which of them have a negative meaning?
Dis-;
in-;
re-;
en-;
co-.
Find in the text words with negative meaning formed with the help of prefixes
and explain their meanings.
72

9. Vocabulary choice can also influence the style in a piece of writing, because
some words are only appropriate in a certain register.
Look at the following sets of words, each of which has a similar meaning. The
underlined word in each set has been used in the text. Find it and try to
substitute the other words. Do you seem inappropriate for the text?
1
2
3
4
5

Working
Protected
Free
Near
Vulnerable

Waged
Safe
Available
Loving
Exposed

Employed
Guarded
Empty
Close
Unprotected

Operating
Defended
Unoccupied
Inseparable
Insecure

10.Choose the correct meaning of the word:

1) What is limbs?
- toys;
- arms and legs;
- hands and feet.
2) A mama-nurse is.
- a woman who gives birth to a child;
- a woman employed to look after babies or small children in their own home;
- a woman who lives in the neighbouring house.
11.Match the definition to the words:
1) to put down
a) to attract or interest somebody greatly
2) to expect
b) to examine something thoroughly
3) to over-protect
c) to see or notice somebody/ something
4) to observe
d) to keep somebody /something safe
5) to explore
e) to believe or hope that somebody will act correctly
6) to fascinate
f) to place somebody/something on a floor, ground.
12.Interpret the words given below and explain the two parts of them:
1) Back-nestling2) Mama-nurse3) Over-protect4) Eleven-month-old child5) Everywhere13.Interpret the discourse markers using explanations given below:
1) meanwhile
a) for that reason
2) wherefore
b) to whatever extend or degree
3) moreover
c) while something else is happening
4) however
d) next, after that, afterwards
5) at first
e) at least, eventually
6) finally
f) in addition
7) immediately
g) at or in the beginning
73

8) then

h) at once

14. Arrange jumbled sentences in a correct order.

1) The baby stays in close contact with his mother and feels warm and safe.
2) Children need freedom to use their limbs.
3) This sense of security may be suddenly broken.
4) Many African mothers nestle their babies on their backs.
5) The child may be put down and expected to behave like a grown-up child.
6) A working mother has nobody to look after the baby.
7) He has been over-protected.
8) Children need to be able to observe and explore their environment.
9) The child started banging the pots and boxes.
IV. Final Reading.
1. Read the text for the third time. Try to retell it.
2. Answer the following questions:
a) What does mean to behave like a grown-up child?
b) What does mean to behave like a baby?
c) Is it good that the baby stays in close contact with the mother?
d) Is it good that the child is over-protected?
e) How can you explain the phrase to make a mess?
f) Is it good that the child behaves like a baby?
g) What other titles to the text would you suggest?
3. Read the following sentences and say where they are true or false.
a) Many American mothers carry their babies on their back.
b) A working mother who has somebody to look after the baby knows he
is safe on her back.
c) It is good that the baby stays in close contact with the mother.
d) It is good that the child is over-protected.
e) The baby stays in close contact with his mother and feels safe and
sound.
f) In cold months the less back-nestling is the better.
g) Many women prefer to carry their children all the time.
h) The mama-nurse was nestling my friend.
i) The mama-nurse thought the child would make the room tidy.
j) The child started banging the pots and boxes with the fork.
k) The different sounds fascinated the child.
4.
-

Brainstorm some other ways of carrying children:

carry in ones arm
carry under ones arm;
lead by the hand;
74

- carry in a pram.
5.
-

Give headlines to each paragraph.

Advantages of back-nestling.
Childrens freedom for exploring their environments.
Visiting a friends home.

6. Make up a plan for your retelling of the text.

a) Back-nestling and possible advantages for mothers.
b) Back- nestling and possible advantages for children.
c) Tell about a disadvantage of back-nestling.
d) Children need freedom.
e) Nestling the babies all day long.
f) Behaviour of eleven-month-old child when he was put down.
7. Contest exercise.
The class is divided into three groups. The first group has to work out a detailed
list of nouns which would help retell the story. The second group has to think of
a whole list of verbs, the third group of adjectives and adverbs. When the lists
are done groups are reformed so that every group has representatives from all
three groups. Students have the task to re-create the story using the vocabulary
lists. The group that would present the most complete and accurate story gets
the highest score.
V. Post-reading Activities.
Speak about how babies are carried in Moldova.
What is your personal opinion about back-nestling?
The following two texts are meant for your independent development to be
handed in to the teacher and to be marked. They are considered your final tests on the
topic Teaching Reading Communicatively. The mark you get will be taken into
consideration at the examination.
Text 1
Home Made Atomic Bomb.
Tomorrow evening about twenty million Americans will be shown on their
television screens how easy it is to steel plutonium and produce the most terrifying
blackmail weapon ever devised a home made atomic bomb.
They will be told that no commercial nuclear plant in the United States and
probably in the world is adequately protected against a well planned armed attack
by terrorists, and that there is enough information on public record to guide a nuclear
thief not only to the vaults of nuclear plants where plutonium is stored, but also to tell
him how the doors of those vaults are designed.
75

The hour - long television program The Plutonium Connection makes its point
by showing how a twenty year old student of the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology in five weeks designed an atomic bomb composed of plutonium and
parts from a hardware store.
The young man, whose identity is being kept secret for fear he may be
kidnapped by terrorists, is quoted as saying: I was pretty surprised about how easy it
is to design a bomb. When I was working on my design, I kept thinking theres got to
be more to it than this, but actually there isnt. Its simple.
The student worked alone, using information he obtained from science libraries
open to the public. The television program, produced for non-commercial stations
across the country by a Boston educational station, shows how quantities of other
secret information are available to anyone.
The Atomic Energy Commissions public reading room in Washington is
described by the narrator as the first place a bomb designer would visit when he
was planning this plutonium theft. On file there and freely available are the plans of
every civilian nuclear installation in the country.
The program seems certain to create enormous controversy not only over the
lack of nuclear safeguards, but also over the morality of commissioning the student to
design a bomb and the wisdom of drawing attention to the ways that a nuclear thief
can work.
Even an official of Public Broadcasting System, which is distributing the TV
program, confessed to qualms: Its a terribly important subject, and people should
know about the dangers, but I cant help wondering if the program wont give
someone idea.
The Plutonium Connection explains, for example, that the security system of
nuclear plants were all designed to prevent sabotage by perhaps one or two agents of
some foreign Power. But now this appears less of a hazard than the possibility of an
attack by an armed band of terrorists with dedicated disregard for their own lives.
The program discusses two major plutonium reprocessing plants in the US one
already operating in Oklahoma, one being completed in South Carolina neither of
which has more than a handful of armed guards to supplement the alarms, fences and
gun-detectors that Government security requires. Both are in such remote areas that it
would take at least 45 minutes for a sizeable police force to be assembled, if there
were an attack.
An official of the South Carolina plant a joint operation of Allied Chemical,
Gulf Oil and Royal Dutch Shell admits to television viewers that the system weve
designed would probably not prevent a band of about 12 armed terrorists from
entering.
Pilfering plutonium is even easier, the program suggests. Despite constant
inventories, there are inevitably particles of plutonium unaccounted for about 11b a
month at the Oklahoma plant, owned by the Kerr-McGee oil company, which in a
year adds up to enough to make an atomic bomb. It is suggested that pilfering would
be even easier if instrument technicians were unscrupulous enough to alter their
measuring devices.
76

The television film also shows radioactive fuel being transported to nuclear
processing plants in commercial armoured cars. As a safety measure, US drivers of
such cars are ordered to contact headquarters by radio telephone every two hours. But
the equipment is cumbersome and unreliable and in difficult terrain there are radio
blackout areas.
The program ends with a warning from Dr. Theodore Taylor, a former Atomic
Energy Commission officer who has long contended that any person of modest
technical ability could make an atomic bomb: If we dont get this problem under
international control within(the next five or six years, there is a good chance that it
will be permanently out of control.
Text 2
Barbaras Father
At nine that evening I rolled into the club, and bumped into Barbaras father,
who gave a startled cry.
Hello, I said, trying not to laugh. I was looking for Bertie Bentall.
He looked round helpfully. I dont believe I
Howre things, Mr. Hutchinson? I said.
As Barbaras old man he had get me into this club rather against my will about a
minute before our engagement came to an untidy and he found himself with Gobbo
for a son-in-law; this was the first time hed spoken to me since, but he was the best
of the Hutchinson bunch, even now Barbara had improved as a result of marriage. It
was a severe shock for him when I first declared for Barbara and his only solace at
the time had been that at least shed been spared Gobbo, so that that year had been
one of the ones hed remember.
Theyre very well, John, very well. I hear you are doing very well for yourself.
Ive ground to a stop at present, but I had some breaks, I agreed. Oh, well-
We have a long standing intention to dine together, John, he said suddenly.
So we have, I smiled. What a memory. What a sense of duty. Hows your
wife? I couldnt stand her.
Very well. It turned out a little while later that he couldnt stand her himself,
and they parted, but while they were presumably drifting away from one another he
was always ready with an eager expression of good-will if anybody mentioned her. I
didnt hold this against him.
He went on: Lets dine out rather than at home, shall we?
Eat with me, I said. Ive a girl who cooks terribly well.
Oh.
Or, out, I dont mind.
Yes, lets.
Excellent.
Ill phone you at home. Whats your number, John?
I told him and we parted. The best performance I ever saw Hutchinson put up
was the pleased speech he made at Barbaras wedding. In a thousand years youd
never have guessed what he was thinking.
77

Chapter Six: Teaching Listening Communicatively.

1. A lengthy period of grammar translation method gave way to audio lingual
domination. That was a way to break the great silence, but hardly the way to
meaningful communication.
With communicative approach, listening has been implied as triggering
speaking. Pre-listening and post-listening activities are used alongside listening ones
constituting an integral system.
What we focus is not the product of listening a correct answer, but the process
of listening.
We distinguish between 2 types of listening objectives:
1) surface level comprehension;
2) high order thinking skills.
There may be 2 types of listening strategies:
1) bottom-up;
2) top-down.
Types of classification listening performance are the following: reactive,
intensive, responsive, selective, extensive, and interactive.
Students with limited access to authentic language need realistic speech, of
which they can be not mere over - hearers, but active participants.
2.Listen WHY?
1) general information (for main points);
2) specific information (particular items);
3) cultural interest in general;
4) for peoples attitudes and opinions;
5) organization of ideas;
6) sequence of events;
7) for lexical items (words expressing noise, movement);
8) for structural items, their use and meaning;
9) for function items, their form and use.
3. What makes Listening difficult?
1) Clustering. (In spoken language we break down speech into smaller groups of
words. In teaching Listening you need to help students to pick out manageable
clusters of words. Do not ask them recall long sentences.)
2) Redundancy. (I mean, you know,words which contribute nothing to the
message, but make learners confused.) One should learn to take advantage of
redundancies as well as other markers that provide more processing time.
3) Reduced forms. (Djiityet? For Did you eat yet?)
4) Performance variables (dialect differences)
5) Colloquial language (idioms, slang, reduced forms)
6) Childrens speech
7) Rate of delivery
78

8) Stress, rhythm, and intonation (significant not used for interpreting such
straightforward elements as questions, statements,, but more subtle messages
like sarcasm, insult, praise..)
9) Interaction. (Good listeners are good responders. One should be ready to give
feedback, to ask for clarification, to maintain a topic).
4.
1)
a)
b)
2)
a)

Listening Objectives.
Surface Level Comprehension
recognizing information ( main ideas, details, multiple choice)
recalling information (main ideas, details, wh-questions)
Higher Order Thinking Skills
recognizing information (summarizing, paraphrasing, classifying, comparing,
contrasting)
b) inferring information (predicting, guessing)
c) evaluating information (judgments of importance, opinions)
d) appreciating information (emotional response)
5. Types of Classroom Listening Performance.
1) Reactive: Listen and repeat. Little or no meaningful processing of the
message.
2) Intensive: Listen to focus on a phonological or grammatical element.
3) Responsive: Listen to teacher prompt in order to give a short reply.
4) Selective: Listen to a passage for certain information.
5) Extensive: Listen to a passage or a lecture for the main idea and general
information.
6) Interactive: Listen to participate in discussion, debate, or pair work.
6.
1)
2)
-

Strategies in Listening.
Bottom-up Strategies (for decoding the message)
micro-skills;
systemic knowledge;
linguistic knowledge.(troublesome consonants and vowels; essential features
of stress, rhythm, and intonation)
Top-down Strategies (for interpreting the message)
macro skills;
schematic knowledge;
non-linguistic knowledge.

7. Listening Activities.
1). Listening for:
- topics;
- time references;
- key words;
- attitudes;
- description;
79

- specific information;
- preferences;
- opinions;
- suggestions;
- sequences; etc.
2). Listening to:
- questions and responding;
-description and reacting;
- invitation and responding;
- statements and responding.

Listening Comprehension
Literal Comprehension Skills.
1. Phoneme discrimination.
2. Word recognition / structure discrimination.
3. Identification of stress / intonation syntactic patterns.
4. Prediction and inference of message development.
5. Creative / active perception.
6. General information recognition.
7. Specific information recognition.
8. Cultural interest information recognition.
9. Peoples attitudes and opinions differentiation.
10.Functional items differentiation (gratitude, doubt, refusal)
11.Organization of ideas comprehension.
12. Sequence of events observation.
13.Noise / movement discerning.
14.Predicting what people are going to talk about.
15.Understanding different intonation patterns and uses of stressetc. which
give clues to meaning and social setting.
16.Understanding inferred information, e.g. speakers attitude, or intentions.
17.Guessing at unknown words without panicking.
18.Using ones own knowledge of the subject to help one understand.
19.Identifying relevant points / rejecting irrelevant information.
20.Retaining relevant points (note taking, summering).
21.Recognizing discourse markers.(well, oh, another thing is, now, finally,
moreover).
22.Recognizing cohesive devices. (e.g.: such as, which, it, link words, pronouns,
references, etc.)
23.Discrimination between American and British English.
24.Discerning different registers / styles.
25.Understanding vowel reduction, assimilation / elision.
26.Regional accents differentiation.
27.Understanding cultural references.
28.Understanding contextual meanings of words and word combinations.
29.Natural English / American (normal speed) comprehension.
80

30.Natural English / American (high speed) comprehension.

31.Division of the text into notable sense shrinks.

1.
To
What ?

5.
Learners
Difficulties

2.
Why?

Listening
Skills

3.
Implications
And
Questions

4.
Skills
Involved

1. To What?
- stories / jokes;
- conversations / discussions / debates;
- instructions / directions / announcements;
- lectures / talks / seminars;
- media radio- news / plays / weather forecasts;
- media TV- films/ interviews / adverts/ news;
- music song / opera / concert;
- sounds hooter / siren / knock / footstep / scream/ laughter;
- telephone talking;
- timetable;
- directory enquires.
2. Why?
- for information (general, main idea / specific, for details);
81

3.
-

for pleasure;
for feedback;
for attitudes / topic / turn-taking / testing;
testing.
Implications and Questions.
materials ( spoken text; scripted dialogue; simulated; authentic);
task purposive (graded);
tape recordings, video;
language laboratory.

4. Skills Involved.
- phoneme discrimination;
- word recognition;
- identification of stress/ intonation syntactic patterns;
- predict and infer development of message;
- process / challenge ongoing message;
- creative / active perception + linguistic knowledge.
5. Learners difficulties, infamiliarity with:
- natural English (normal speed);
- phoneme description (hat/ heart; hut/ hurt);
- vowel reduction/ assimilation/ elision;
- stress / rhythm;
- cultural references;
- contextual / structural clues;
- registers / styles;
- regional accents;
- American and British English.
Listening Comprehension
Materials.
1. Conversation / discussion / debate.
2. Instructions / directions / announcements.
3. Lectures / talks / seminars.
4. News / plays by radio.
5. Films / interviews / advertisements by TV.
6. Songs / opera/ concerts.
7. Sounds (hooters, siren, knock, footsteps, scream, laughter, etc.)
8. Telephone talks.
9. Talking timetable.
10.Talking directory enquires.
11.Stories, jokes.
12.Spoken text.
13.Scripted dialogues / monologues.
82

14.Simulated dialogues / monologues.

15.Authentic dialogues / monologues.
16.Tape recordings.
17.Video.
18.Language laboratory materials.
Exercises
1. Listen and repeat.
2. Listen and reply.
3. Listen and infer.
4. Listen and predict.
5. Listen and select.
6. Listen and fill in.
7. Listen and do.
8. Listen and classify.
9. Listen and continue.
10.Listen and draw.
11.Listen and transcribe.
12.Listen and describe.
13.Listen and take notes.
14.Listen and compare.
15.Listen and discuss.
16.True / false.
17.Place in correct order.
18.Listen and ask questions.

83

Listen
+
Discuss

Listen
+
predict

Listen
+
Compare

Listen
+
Reply

Listen
+
Take notes

Listen
+
Infer

Listen
+
Describe

Listening
exercises

Listen
+
Select

Listen
+
Draw
Listen
+
Fill in

Listen
+
Do

Listen
+
Transcribe

1. Listen + predict - interrupt narrative / football result (intonation) /

incomplete dialogue (telephone)
2. Listen + compare attitudes (intonation) / opinions / 2 different texts
(correcting errors).
3. Listen + take notes lecture / telephone / message.
4. Listen + describe writing / speaking (sounds intriguing)
5. Listen + draw map / picture / object / diagram.
6. Listen + transcribe dictation.
7. Listen + do lego / origami.
8. Listen + fill in written/ cloze / visuals (graphs/ bar graphs/ pick
charts; detailed tabulated info; forms/ balance/ sheets/ tables; maps/
flow-charts/ diagrams.)
9. Listen + select using visuals (picture/ diagram/ sequences of
pictures); using written texts (discrete items/ sound, word recognition);
recipes/ adverts/ headlines.
10.Listen + infer conversations (telephone/ attitudes/ speakers/ context)
11.Listen + reply mulus and appropriate reaction.
12.Listen + discuss jigsaw / parallel / patchwork.
84

Listening Material Development.

Pre-listening is to interest students in listening material.
Extensive stage is for the first listening. It is for general listening
comprehension.
Intensive stage (the second listening) aims at full understanding of a message,
details of a message in particular.
Final stage (the last listening) should help provide the retelling of the text.
Post- listening develops spontaneous speech on the basis of topics not directly
related to the material listened.
Read the text attentively and study its development below.
King Rat
Nobody likes rats. Everyone thinks they are dirty, carry diseases, bite peoples
thought and steel eggs from chickens. If you call someone a rat they know you
dont like them. Someone in a ratty mood is not much fun and the rat race is
something we all try to escape from. Few people protest or complain when rats are
used in laboratory experiments. Many people think rats were responsible for the
Black Death which killed half the population of England in the Middle Ages.
But Sarah Handley shares her house with 40 rats and she doesnt think rats
started the plague. She says Some scientists think the plague was anthrax (a virus)
and was carried by the wind. The plague spread very quickly; rats cannot travel so far
or so fast. Sarah is trying to change peoples opinion of rats. She says rats do not
jump at throats. If cornered a rat will go for the area of most daylight and so they
jump over the shoulder. Sarah feels sorry for all of us who do not know the charms
of rats.
King of the rats in the Handley household is Solo. He is a show champion, and
the family pet. While the other rats sleep in an empty bedroom, Solo sleeps with
Sarah and her husband William, in his own cage in their bedroom. He gets up and
breakfasts with them and in the evening sits at the kitchen table while Sarah cooks
dinner. He helps himself to what he wants from their plates. He likes rice, sweet-corn
and peas; he carefully removes the skin from the peas and he only eats the sweet
insides. Later he has a few nuts and raisins, usually taking them from Sarahs lips in a
delicate rat kiss. Uninvited he puts his long pointed nose into Sarahs wine glass,
though his favourite drink is coke.
The Handleys take Solo with them when they go on holiday in the UK. In a big
hotel they dont tell anybody. Nobody really notice a small cage. Last year they went
to a small hotel, so they asked for permission first. The hotel answered that he was
welcome, but wasnt allowed to eat in the dinning room. Sarah stole her first rat from
her brother. He kept rats as food for snakes. Her family always had lots of animals,
but only Sarah liked rats. She first kept them as pets, and then she started to exhibit
them at shows. In 1976 she became a founder member of the National Fancy Rat
Society.
85

There are several colours and types of rats. Sarah saved the Cinnamon Pearl
(Solo is a fine example) when it nearly went extinct. Now there ere several hundred
all descended from the original pear.
All her rats have lovely characters except for Orlando, who lives alone, because
he is so unfriendly. He was always miserable, says Sarah. I bought him , because I
felt sorry for him.
Although Solo is everybodys favourite, the others come down to play in the
living room every day. They are perfect pets, says Sarah. People are so silly about
them. They come up to me at shops and say Ooh, what is it? Is it a hamster? Or a
ferret? Or a gerbil? Then you say No, its a rat and they fall backwards. People are
really ignorant about rats.
I. Pre- Listening Stage.
1. Look at the title and try to guess that the text is about. Write down your ideas.
2. Look at the title and name the possible genre of the text (fairy tale, scientific
report, and interview). Write down your ideas.
3. Judging by the following phrases, tell what the text is about:
a) They are dirty.
b) They steal eggs from chicken.
c) They are perfect pets.
d) People protest when they are used in laboratory experiments.
4. Look at the picture and tell about the relationships between the woman and
her rat.
5. Read the gist of the story and fill in the gaps with the suitable words:
Sarah is trying to ___________ peoples opinion of rats. She shares her house
with many ______________. Her favourite ___________ is a world champion. He
sleeps with ____________ and her husband in his own cage in their bedroom. She
first ________________ them at pets, then she started to _____________ the at
shows. Sarah saved the Cinnamon Pearl when it nearly _____________ extinct.
6. Answer the questions:
a) What pets do people usually keep?
b)Can you name unusual or exotic pets?
c) What are the reasons for keeping pets?
d) Are rats usually kept for pets?
7. Put down 10 adjectives you associate with rats.
II. Extensive Listening Stage.
1. Listen to the tape for the first time. Were your predictions correct? Cross the
wrong answers.
86

2. Answer the questions:

a) What is the main idea of the text?
b) What is the traditional opinion of rats?
c) Where did Sarah take her first rat?
d) Did Sarahs family like animals?
e) Do all rats have lovely character?
f) Do hotels welcome rats as guests?
g) How are rats different?
3. Read the following statements and underline the right answer:
a) _________________ likes rats.
Everyone, someone, nobody, few, many.
b) _____________ thinks they are dirty, carry diseases, bite peoples thoughts
and steel eggs.
Everyone, someone, nobody, few, many.
c) ______________ people protest when rats are used in the laboratory
experiments.
Everyone, someone, nobody, few, many.
d)The Black Death killed _______________ the population of England in
Middle Ages.
Many, half, several hundred, all.
e) Sarah has _______ rats.
90, 14, 40, 30.
f) It is traditionally believed that ____________ were responsible for the Black
Death.
Travelers, wind, sea, rats.
g) Sarah supports the theory according to which the plague was carried by
___________.
Travelers, wind, sea, rats.
h) Sarah became a founder member of the National Fancy Rat
_______________.
Assembly, Society, Association, Organization.
4. Answer the following questions by ticking the right answer:
a) What is the name of King Rat?
Orlando, Solomon, William, Solo.
b) What is Sarahs Husband name?
Orlando, Solomon, William, Solo.
c) When did Sarah become a founder member of the National Fancy Rat
Society?
1970, 1976, 1926, 2000.
d) Who does Sarah feel sorry for?
All of us who do not know the charms of rats, Orlando, Cinnamon Pearl, the
infected with the Black Death.
e)Who liked rats in Sarahs family?
87

Only Sarah, her brother, her father, all her family.

5. Find the second part of a sentence in column B and match the first part in
column A:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)

Few people protest or complain when

Sarah thinks
Solo helps himself to
The Handleys take Solo with them
Sarahs brother kept rats
Sarah doesnt think
Uninvited Solo puts his long nose
She first kept them as pets, then
Sarah saved the Cinnamon Pearl when
All rats have lovely characters except for

a) rats started the plague.

b) as food for his snakes.
c) into Sarahs wine glass.
d) she started to exhibit them at shows.
e) rats are used in laboratory experiments.
f) it nearly went extinct.
g) rats cannot travel so far and so fast.
h) when they go on holiday in the UK.
i) Orlando who is so unfriendly.
j) what he wants from their plates.

6. Put the sentences from the previous exercise in the order they are given in the
text.
7. Make the gist of the text and compare it with that of your partner.
III. Intensive Listening Stage.
1.Listen for the second time and complete the sentences:
a) If you call someone a rat it means you _______________________.
b) Someone in ratty mood is _________________________________.
c) The rat race is something we _______________________________.
d) Solo carefully removes the skin from the peas and he only eats _____.
e) Sarahs brother kept rats as __________________________________.
2.Cross the items of Solos diet mentioned in the text:
Coffee, cabbage, sunflower seeds, rice, buckwheat, sweet-corn, semolina, peas,
cucumbers, nuts, radish, raisins, tea, wine, coke, beer, chicken eggs.
3. Make a list of things which prove that Sarahs family and Solo spend much
time together.
4. Make notes of what is said about the characters of Orlando and Solo and
compare them.
6.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

In what connection are the following expressions used in the text?

laboratory experiments;
the family pet;
a delicate rat kiss;
a founder member;
show champion;
f) fall backwards.

88

6.Explain what the following words used in the text mean:

a) anthrax;
b) complain(v);
c) charms;
d) extinct;
e) ignorant.
7. Answer the question: Does Sarah refer to Solo as it or he? Why?
IV. Final Listening Stage.
1. Listen to the text the third time and make the list of traditional views of rats
and Sarahs counter arguments.
2. Describe
a) Solo according to the plan:
- type of rat;
- appearance;
-schedule;
-habits;
- eating preferences;
-attitudes;
-descendents.
b) Differences in keeping Solo, Orlando, and other rats.
3. Make an outline of the text.
4. Build the sequence of the events starting with Sarah stole her first rat from
her brother.
5. Answer the questions:
a) Why dont any people like rats?
b) Did Sarah convince you that rats are perfect pets? What arguments did she
give?
c) Why do people keep rats?
d) Why do people prefer keeping hamsters but not rats?
6. Retell the text as if you were Sarah, William, Solo.
V. Post- Listening Stage.
1. Answer the questions:
a) What do you know about rats current situation in Moldova?
b) Has the text changed your attitude to rats?
89

c) Do you know any stories, novels, legends connected with rats?

2. Debate the topic Rats are perfect pets. Get to one of two groups and give
arguments for and against this statement.
3. Discuss the behaviour of various pets. Do you believe that animals experience
feelings? Consider rats, cats, dogs, parrots, fish, monkeys, hamsters, turtles,
crocodiles, and others.
4. Write a letter to an animal right group in the UK, describing current situation
of endangered species in Moldova and suggest how it can be improved.
5. Make a short speech about the harmful effect of stereotypes. Give an example
when traditional view brought to misunderstanding or even tragedy. Think of a moral
of your speech.
Read the text attentively and study its development below.
The Mystery of the Disappearing Ships.
The mysteries of the Rosalie and the Rubicon are still mysteries today. Nobody
knows what happened to their crews. Several other cases are recorded, one of the
most famous being the Marie Celeste. But many of other ships disappeared
completely: nothing was left no survives, no wreckage. They just disappeared. The
American warship the UUS Pickering was the first recorded case: it disappeared in
1800 with 90 people on board.
In 1931 an aircraft disappeared. It was the first of many. On of the most famous
cases was the disappearance of five American military aircraft. They radioed for help
on December 5th 1945. A rescue aircraft left immediately, but not one of the six
planes returned to base. The search was intensive, but nothing no bodies, no
wreckage, no oil was found. A count made in 1977, of lost crews, ships and planes
noted a total of 143 disappearances. A very great number of these occurred in the
1960s and 1970s.
The possible solutions to these mysteries are difficult to believe. One suggested
solution is illness. If it was an illness, then it killed everybody. Did someone throw all
the bodies overboard? Did that person then jumped overboard? But perhaps it was a
mental illness and everybody on board went mad and jumped overboard! Pirates are
another possibility: they exist today just as they did in the 18 th and 19th centuries.
Today they can take small speedboats, repaint them and use them for smuggling. But
pirates also want cargoes, and on the Rubicon and other ships the cargoes were
complete.
Storms, heavy seas, high winds and waterspouts can all destroy ships and
planes, but usually something is found later some wreckage, bits of wood, oil,
lifejackets, etc.
90

Some people believe that there is a hole in our space/time dimension and that
ships and planes pass through the hole to another world in a different time and space.
Others believe that extra- terrestrials take the ships, crews and planes, in a form of
kidnapping space-napping.
All these mysteries happened in or near the so-called Bermuda Triangle. But
such events also occur at the opposite side of the world, not far from Japan, in an area
called the Devil Sea.
There are many other strange vents associated with these two areas. When will
we know the answer?
I. Pre- Listening Stage.
1. Look at the following pictures and answer the questions. (There are two
pictures: a ship and a pirate.)
a) What is your opinion about these pictures?
b) What atmosphere is created by them?
c) Read the title. What do you think the text may be about?
d) What is meant by strange disappearance?
e) What do you think this article may be:
- a scientific report;
- a science fiction;
- an interview;
- a fairly tale;
- others.
2. Listen to the following exercises and define the message of the text. Here are
some clues;
- mysteries in Bermuda Triangle;
- kidnapping;
- no survivors, no wreckage;
- strange events.
3. Choose two synonyms that fit best the word mystery.
a) enigma;
b) terra incognita;
c) unexplored ground;
d) secret;
e) conundrum.
4. Discuss the following questions in groups:
a) Have you ever travelled by sea?
b) If you have, did you like it?
c) What were its attractions?
d) Was it safe?
e) If you were not, would you like to?
f) Would you like to travel by sea?
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5. Make a table and write the advantages and disadvantages when travelling by
sea:
Example:
Advantages

Disadvantages

Comfortable
Not stressful
..

Expensive
Sometimes crowded
Dangerous
..

6. Work in groups and discuss the following questions:

- How many ships do you know the names of?
- What stories, movies, articles do you know about ships?
7. All these words will appear in the article. Make the stressed syllables:
Example: possible.
a) disappearance;
d) aircraft;
b) Japan;
e) immediately;
c) overloaded;
f) recorded.
II. The Extensive Stage.
1. Listen to the tape for the first time and see how accurate your first predictions
were.
2. Answer the following questions:
a) What is the main idea of the article?
b) What does this extract look like?
- a novel;
- a report;
- a fairly tale;
- an article;

- an interview;
- others.

3. Which adjectives would you use to describe the speakers attitude?

- ironic;
- concerned;
- indifferent;
- humorous.
4. While listening the text for the first time supply the gaps with the dates:
a) USS Pickering disappeared in ______________.
b) In ______________ an aircraft disappeared.
c) A count was made in _______________.
d) A very great number of disappearances occurred in ________ and _________.
5. Answer the following questions by ticking the right answer:
a) One of the most famous cases of mystery is:
- Rosalie;
- Rubicon;
- Marie Celeste.
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b) The UUS Pickering disappeared with:

-90 people on board; - 19 people;
-190 people.
6. Read the following sentences. Find the mistakes and correct them.
1) In 1931 a aircraft disappeared.
2) The search were intensive.
3) Several another cases are recorded.
4) The possible sollutions of these mysteries are difficult to believe.
5) There are many other strange events associating with this two areas.
III. The Intensive Listening Stage.
1. Listen to the tape for the second time and choose the best answer:
a) A survivor is:
- someone who dies;
- someone who calls for help;
- someone who lives after a difficult time;
- someone who is in danger.
b) A crew is:
- a group of people or clothes;
- a type of boat;
- people working on a ship;
- a bundle of clothes.
c) An aircraft is:
- any vehicle that can fly;
- the pilot who fly a plane;
- a building at an airport.
2. Explain the meanings of the following words:
- smuggling;
- cargo;
- wreckage;
- kidnapping.
3. Put down the list of the disappeared ships.
4. Tell your neighbour in what connections are the following words used in the text:
a) possible solutions;
b) wreckage;
c) jump overboard;
d) space-aping;
e) on board;
f) smuggling;
5. Cross out the sentences that were not mentioned in the text:
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a) But many other ships disappeared completely.

b) Nowadays there are a lot of extra- terrestrials.
c) A lot of ships disappeared in the 1980s.
d) In 1931 an aircraft disappeared.
e) Pirates are another possibility.
6. Choose the right verb. Use one of the verbs from the box to fill each gap, in their
correct form.
Know
believe
pass
Occur
be
jump
1) Nobody ______________ what happened to their crews.
2) One suggested solution ______________ illness.
3) Did that person then ________________ overbroad.
4) Some people ____________ that theres a hole in our space
dimension, and that ships and planes ____________ through the hole
to another world.
5) But such events also ____________ at the opposite side of the world.
7. Find the words which mean:
- occur;
- out of the ship;
- bits and pieces from a boat;
- people from another world;
8. Read the following sentences and underline the right answer:
a) ( Everybody, somebody, nobody) knows what happened to their crews.
b) (Several, many, no) other cases are recorded.
c) (Other, some, several) people believe that there is a hole in our space dimension.
d) (Some, others, another) believe that extra- terrestrials take the ships, crews, and
planes.
e) All (these, the those) mysteries happened in or near the so-called Bermuda
Triangle.
IV. The Final Stage.
1. Listen to the tape for the third time and decide which of the four options best sums
up the point the author is making.
a) Nobody has the possible solutions to the mysteries of disappearing ships.
b) There are a lot of disappeared ships with people on board.
c) The mysteries of disappeared ships are still mysteries today.
d) There are a lot of strange events associated with Bermuda Triangle and Devils
Sea.
2. Indicate whether the following statements are true or false:
a) The mysteries of the Rosalie and the Rubicon are no longer mysteries today.
94

b) Everybody knows what happens to their crews.

c) The UUS Pickering disappeared in 1800.
d) A count made in 1977 of last ships and planes noted a total of 143 disappearances.
e) All the mysteries happened in Devils Sea.
3. Put the following events in their proper order by supplying them with
corresponding figures from the column in the right:
a) In 1931 an aircraft disappeared.
b) The UUS Pickering disappeared in 1800.
c) A great number of disappearances occurred in the 1970s and 1980s.
d) A count made in 1977 noted a total of 143 disappearances.
e) Many strange events are associated with Bermuda Triangle.
f) There are people who believe that extra- terrestrials take the ships.
4. Make a list of possible solutions to these mysteries and say which solution do you
think is more acceptable and adequate and why?
5. In support of his argument the speaker mentions the following names of ships:
a) Rosalie and Rubicon;
b) Marie Celeste;
c) USS Pickering.
Which of the above:
1) are still mysteries today?
2) Is one of the most famous case?
3) Was an American warship?
4) Disappeared in 1880.
5) Disappeared with 90 people on board.
6. These adjectives all appear in the article. Match them with an equivalent meaning
on the right, according to how they are used:
1) famous (case)
a) through
2) intensive (search)
b) inexplicable
3) possible (solutions)
c) stormy
4) strange (events)
d) well- known
5) heavy (seas)
e)probable
7. Retell the text as if you were: an American pilot, a pirate, or a survivor.
8. Explain the underlined word.
a) Smuggling is a crime. It means taking illegally into a country.
There is another crime in the text. It is space napping. What does this word usually
mean? What does it mean here?
V. The Post- Listening Stage.
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1. Form groups of two and discuss other possible solutions to the mysteries of the
disappearing ships.
2. Answer the questions:
a) Which of these possible solutions you regard as the most serious and true?
b) What do you know about Bermuda Triangle?
3. Write an essay with the following title: Travelling by sea is/ is not dangerous.
----------------------------------------------------------Make a critical analysis of the following two developments of the text
Mystery of the Disappearing Ships.
Development 1
I. Pre Listening Stage.
1. Try to guess what the text may be about judging the title.
II. Extensive Listening:
1. Comprehensive questions:
a) Are the mysteries of the Rosalie and Rubicon still mysteries today?
b) What happened to Rosalie and Rubicon?
c) Who was Marie Celestine?
d) What happened in 1931?
e) In what date the people radioed for help?
f) Was the disappearance of five American military aircraft one of the most
famous cases?
g) Was the first case recorded in the 15th century?
h) Are pirates the solution to these mysteries?
k) Did all these mysteries happen in or near the so-called Bermuda Triangle?
2. Multiple choice. Tick off the right answer.
a) But many other ships disappeared completely: nothing has left no survivors,

- no ships;
- no wreckage;
- no clothes.
b) In 1932 disappeared.
- an aircraft;
- a ship;
- a cargoes.
c) A very great number of these occurred in the
- 1959s and 1980s;
- 1920s and 1930s;
- 1960s and 1970s.
d) Pirates can take small .. repaint them and use them for smuggling.
- helicopters;
- speedboats;
- aircrafts.
e) All these mysteries happened in or near the so called ..
- Australia;
- New Zealand;
- Bermuda Triangle.
III. Intensive Listening.
1. Paraphrase the following sentences using the new words and word
combinations.
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a) Nobody knows what happened to their crew. (group; team)

b) But many other ships disappeared completely: nothing was left no
survivors, no wreckage. (boats; outlive; remains)
c) But such events also occur at the opposite side of the world; not far from
Japan, in an area called Devils Sea. (facts; take place.)
d) There are many other strange events associated with these two areas.
(unusual; curious; connect).
2. Fill in the sentences with prepositions from the chart:
Of,

on,

of,

for,

for,

at,

of,

from,

in.

a) The mysteries . The Rosalie and Rubicon are still mysteries today.
b) They radioed for help.. December 5th 1945.
c) Storms, heavy seas, high winds and waterfalls can all destroy ships and planes, but
usually something is found later.. some wreckage, bits.. wood, oil, lifejackets.
d) Today they can take small speed boats, repaint them and use them .smuggling.
e) But such events also occur .. the opposite side .. the world, not far. Japan,
.. an area called Devils Sea.
3. Put the sentences in a right order:
1) The possible solutions to these mysteries are difficult to believe.
2) All these mysteries happened in or near the so called Bermuda Triangle.
3) Nobody knows what happened to their crews.
4) In 1931 an aircraft disappeared.
5) There are many other strange events associated with these two areas.
4. Complete the following sentences while listening to the text.
a) They just..
b) One of the most famous cases was the disappearance of five American
military.. .
c) They for help on December 5th 1945.
d) A very great number of these ..
e) All these .happened in or near the so- called Bermuda Triangle.
(radioed, aircraft, occurred, disappeared, mysteries)
5. Listen to the text and decide what is true or false:
a) Everybody knows what happened to their crews.
b) In 1935 an aircraft disappeared.
c) They radioed for help on December 5th 1945.
d) Today pirates can take big helicopters, repaint them and use them for smuggling.
e) But such events also occur at the opposite side of the world, not far from Japan, in
an area called Devils Sea.
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6. Put the proper names in a right order:

1. Bermuda Triangle
2. American
3. Marie Celeste
4. Devils Sea
5. Rosalie
6. Rubicon
7. Japan.
IV. Final Listening.
1. Listen to the text and put down:
- the names of disappearance ships;
- the dates of the most disappearance;
- the possible solutions to these mysteries.
2. What conclusion did the author make towards the mystery of disappearing ships?
3. Retell the text by using some key- words:
- crew;
- cargoes;
- survivors;
- waterspouts;
- wreckage;
- lifejackets;
- aircraft;
- speedboat;
- to radio;
- illness.
V. Post-Listening.
1. Give your own possible solutions to these mysteries.
2. What else do you know about some disappearances, or about mystery of the
disappearing ships?
The following text is meant for your own development. The mark you get will
be taken into account at the examination.
Last time Eric Peter made a single handed crossing of the Atlantic, he went by
beer barrel, under sail. This time, hes planning to do it without the sail. Penny
Charlton reports.
Some people are perhaps happy to get their names in the Guinness Book of
Records once: Eric Peters, lone transatlantic yachtsman, is trying to get his name in
twice. Eric wants to beat his own astonishing test of self endurance.
In 1982 Eric crossed the Atlantic all 2,600 miles of it not on ocean going
yacht but a beer- barrel about two meters long. He took no engine, no anchor, no
radio, no compass, and no sunglasses. He is now sorry that he didnt take a pair of
98

sunglasses, because his eyes, after 46 days at sea, got badly burned by glare of the
sun on water.
Most of the people who knew him in Littlehampton, Sussex, thought he was
nuts. He spent two years on the dole making his beer-barrel waterproof and
unsinkable. Asked why he decided to do it. Eric explained: Because I wanted to
prove it was possible.
He asked the top 50 companies for help with his strange voyage; they all said
no or ignored him. But someone gave him a small sail and someone else gave him
a supply of peanuts and vitamins and this was his basic diet along with some bran
and olive oil. He, in fact, lived on half a litre water a day. The recommended
minimum is a litre and a half. This was recommended when he contacted Surgeon
Commander Frank Golden, a survival expert at the Institute of Naval Medicine in
Southampton.
At first I thought Mr. Peters was joking. Then when he was serious I thought he
was crackers, Commander Golden says, adding, I tried to discourage him and to
persuade him to try something safer like crossing the Thames.
Eric hitched a lift on a ship to the Canary Islands, and on Christmas Eve he set
off. He took no books and his only luxury, a tape recorder to record his daily log, got
wet and refused to work.
Forty- six days later Commander Golden got a postcard from Guadeloupe in the
French West Indies. Eric was safely across the Atlantic.
Eric was back in England this month because he wants to do it again, only this
time from West to East and this time without a sail.
So, far he has had little success in trying to find sponsors for a rerun. But he is
now making last-minute preparations for his epic, perhaps final voyage. There will be
no tearful farewell; nothing more than a pint or two of beer-barrel at his send-offwithout a sail.

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References:
1. Listening. Anne Anderson and Tony Lynch, OUP, 1996;
2. Listening to Spoken English. Gilliam Brown, Longman, 1977;
3. Teaching Language as Communication, Henry Widdowson OUP, 1978;
4. Teaching Listening Comprehension, Penny Ur, CUP, 1979;
5. Linking Links, Marion Geddes, Hienemann Educational Books, 1979;
6. Damatic Monologues for Listening Comprehension, Colin Motimer, CUP,
1978;
7. Listen to This, Mary Underwood, OUP, 1975;
8. Have You Heard?, Mary Underwood, OUP, 1975;
9. Handshake, Peter Viney and Karen Viney, OUP, 1997;
10.First Certificate Practice Tests, Mark Harrison and Rosalia Kerr, OUP, 1997;
11.Headway (from elementary to advanced), John Soars and Liz Soars, 1997.
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