“What would you say if…..?”
(This lesson is from Dave’s ESL Café, www.eslcafe.com)
Classroom activity
You can adjust this activity depending on the speaking abilities of your students. The activity allows the students to use the vocabulary that they may not have a chance to use otherwise. You should stress to the students that they need to be CREATIVE with their answers.
On the blackboard/whiteboard write: “What would you say if….”
On pieces of paper/index cards write some funny and crazy situations such as:…you went to the washroom and saw a kamodo dragon, your father came home with blue hair, you just won 1 million USDollars, you arrived at school only wearing your underwear, if your teacher was replaced with a robot,etc….
The crazier, funnier, and weirder the situation is the better!
Place the situations in a bag/hat then, the teacher starts by pulling out one situation and calling on a student asking, “What would you do if…(then state the situation you pulled out of the bag/hat)” The student answers then pulls out a situation and asks another student the question: “What would you do if…”
This continues onwards you can even use the same situation many times over as long as you stress that the students must give different answers to the situation.
Use the news follow-up activity
Students must write one or two new situations based on real situations from the news. Students can listen to Asia Calling on their local radio station for ideas. For example, if the story is about a volcano erupting in Java, students might want to ask the question, “What would you say if you say lava coming down the mountain about to cover your home.” Or if the story is about the assassination of a political figure in Pakistan, students could ask, “What would you hear someone talking about killing the president?”
Encourage students to first listen to the English version of but remind them they can also use the Bahasa Indonesia version if they need to. Remember to give students the time and frequency where they can hear the program in your area. You can find this information on the Asia Calling Web site (www. asiacalling.kbr68h.com) or by calling 021 851 3386. Students can also listen to stories online or read the story in print format at www. asiacalling.kbr68h.com. If Asia Calling is not available in your area, you can use this same activity with another radio program or a local newspaper.
View and download more Use the News activities here
What do you think about this lesson? Do you have a suggestion of how to improve it? Tell us! Just click on “Comments” below to share your feedback or suggestions…
(This lesson is from Dave’s ESL Cafe)
1. Set the scene. An English speaking visitor goes out of an airport and gets into a taxi. He sits in the back. On the way to town the driver strikes up a conversation. Unfortunately he drives fast and keeps turning round to look at the passenger!
2. Now seat the students in pairs, one driver and one passenger. The driver sits in front of and to one side of the passenger, as if in a taxi.
3. Now, practice this dialogue:
For the taxi driver
A. Personal information- “Where are you from? What languages do you speak? Are you married?”
B. Present perfect: “Have you been to our country before? Have you seen…? Have you read about…? Have you tried (food etc)? Have you heard about (recent event)?”
C. Suggestions: “Why don`t you visit… you should see… You could go to…”
And for the passenger
D. Imperatives: “Look out! Keep your eye on the road! etc.”
*Can you think of any new dialogue that your students might use in their city or town?
Now, use this simple lesson as a link to the news…
This Week’s Use the News Follow-up Activity (Homework)
4. Take a few minutes at the end of class to review the question: “Have you heard or read about?” How did your students answer this question? What did they discuss with their “taxi driver”?
5. Next, tell “students” that they will repeat this activity next week, however, students who can answer the question “Did you hear about….?” with a real news story from Asia Calling’s weekend radio broadcast, will receive extra credit or an extra prize. Give students the time and frequency where they can hear the program in your area. For a list of stations and broadcast times, click here. Ask students to first listen and take notes on the English version of the story. But they can also listen to local language version if they need to. Students can also listen to stories online or read the story in print format on the Asia Calling Web site.
What do you think about this lesson? Do you have a suggestion of how to improve it? Tell us! Just click on “Comments” below to share your feedback or suggestions…
We fell a bit behind on the blogging over the past few months because we’ve been busy with other things, like the new Radio Passport.
As we all know, traveling to other countries requires a Passport with information about your identity and the destinations you have visited.
A Radio Passport is very similar. Students use it to record and discuss what they learn on Asia Calling about countries and cultures throughout Asia. Teachers can use it to monitor students’ progress as part of a simple step-by-step lesson plan.
Download Radio Passport lesson plan now
We introduced the activity at a recent workshop in Malang with a group of 18 teachers from throughout East Java.
An enthusiastic start for first-time passport holders
Pak Budi introduces the Radio Passport to an attentive class of fellow teachers
