Apologies for sharing my assignment so late - I was training teachers out in the boondocks. I've designed some materials around four tweets for Business English learners. You'll find the actual tasks on page 2-3.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XEr3gdCx11A4a9wL6CRRg8d-YdSUgILF/view?usp=sharing
Hi Adi Rajan, Love the variety in your lesson (using real tweets, discussion tasks and language work) and how all leads to a real task at the end. I also like how you thought about how you can use QR codes, class wiki, just-the-word.com - Test ,... tomake the tasks more engaging and learner centered ! What level is it aimed at? A2 ?
ReplyDeleteUsually it's a bit challenging to prepare materials for low-level business students, don't you think so?
Wow...so much there, but the 1st thing that hits you is layout/design - wow! So nice to look at, so clear and easy to settle into the page! Love it.
ReplyDeleteAyat Tawel Thanks for having a look, Ayat! I'm curious about why you think the materials might be pitched at A2. I usually work with mixed levels - low B2 to high C1 but rarely A2. Do you think the materials require more challenge? In the past, with lower level business learners, I've focused on the type of spoken or written discourse they require for English communication (such as emails) rather than casting a wider net. BTW, I spent a part of my childhood in Cairo.
ReplyDeleteMatthew Noble Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHi again Adi, I also thought your materials looked really professional. Loved how the tweets tied in with your lesson theme. I wanted to talk about Aliyah's email. At first I wonder if you made it up, or it's authentic? I think it lacks some names, to make it seem more authentic, also, I found myself trying to unpack the meaning. It's a really interesting example for me, because I'm also interested in trying to simulate authentic interactions, and will post on it this week. Great job! Your lesson, reminded me of a task I analyzed in a Cornelson B.E textbook trying to use modal verbs to understand imposition when asking a supplier to do something inconvenient.
ReplyDeleteAlan Simpson Thanks for commenting, Alan. Yeah only the tweets are authentic - I made up the email. I wanted to talk directly to the learner but that might involve a very clumsy "Hi " which I sometimes see in a course book but you're right I didn't think the 'simulated authenticity' through - names would have definitely helped. Cornelson have some brilliant materials - it's a pity they're not more widely available.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your materials Adi. The format is very profesional and clean – a delight to read. As I was Reading through the background, aims, etc. I was wondering about the process you went through when you wrote them – about the order in which you did things and whether you noticed opportunities after you’d alreadystarted – so came back and added them in. The materials are very ‘complete’ and it’s great how much useful language practice you’ve got from suchshort texts. Tweets will be motivating too.
ReplyDeleteNumbering
This is very clear and will make it easy for your students to navigate the materials. I epsecially appreciate how you have broken down tasks into manageable stages. Why do you use letters instead of numbers? It doesn’t make any difference at all – but I wondered whether there was a reason for this. I’m always curoious about things like this.
Task types
Great! Variety and focus not only on language but also developing critical thinking with activities like ranking – something we do in the real world and especially in a business context. I particularly like the final task where they send a real tweet.
I can’t fault these materials. Great!
Adi, can I join your class? I love the plan, the activities and the worksheets.
ReplyDeleteKatherine Bilsborough Thank you for sharing detailed feedback. I had a frame in mind book-ended by tasks (talk about decision making and looking at some tweets, and tweet something) and I gradually filled the gaps in between. But you're right, there was a lot of going back over things and adding an extra task to get the transition or scaffolding just right.
ReplyDeleteApropos numbers vs. letters, I mostly work with the British Council these days and they tend to use letters. In my own projects, I don't use either - I prefer topics or explicitly indicated task types (Listen and discuss).