For this activity we made 3 pairs. Two food names were given to each pair. Students had to make a recipe for it. Then one explained it to two other pairs. After hearing the cooking process, 2 pairs figured out the food. When we could not find out the food, one gave us additional hints.
The instruction was detailed and it was clear what the students had to do. Students may not concentrate on the task if they simply asked to hear the cooking process. However, by making them figure out the what the food is, the activity was like game and fun.
There was a bit of a problem with the time distribution. While the first food was explained for long time, there was very little time to explain the second food, so some student would not have a chance to say. Fortunately, There was about 2 minutes left so the second food had been explained within a minute.
And there was another problem. It was difficult to figure out some foods after listening to a description such as a Sinseollo - Korean traditional food, the person who explained it had never eaten it. So I hope there will be more delicate food choice next time. Except for this part, it was very beneficial in that the activities were not burdensome and we can use it in real life.
Show and tell
During this activity, the Instructor brought some objects. The students were asked for finding out the purpose of the objects and how to use it. They also made a guess for the name of objects. One of the three pairs used the sample questions they got in the instruction, and the other two fairs talked freely.
There was a problem in selecting the objects. I tried to pick up a strange ones. However, the students could figure out the just three out of the five stuffs. What they could not find wereOmamori, Silicone heel patch and mascara guide - halfof the usage only; eyelash comb and mascara solution to cover the eyelids. The students got more than I thought.Especially one student knew everything.
It seems that revise is necessary to make the task more difficult. I thought they would spent more time on figuring out the purpose of the item. But it took less time than I expected. About 6 minutes were left. We can use one more minute per person. Next time I will come up with really strange things, or increase the number of the object. Or I would like to ask students to bring things with precious or interesting stories. In particular, the latter seems to be able to tell a deeper story.
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Anonymous
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RE: Teaching Listening and Speaking (Spring 2019) - Week 11 Reflections for Super
This activity has its focus on giving information and telling process. Although it was played in pairs for our group, it can also be played individually depending on the amount of time you have. In the case of our group, we were divided into three groups of two and each group was given two different dishes. These foods were shared only among the same group members and not with others. For twenty minutes, students were asked to look up how to make the foods they were assigned in pairs. We are allowed to look up the recipes online. What was important in this process was being able to come up with appropriate transition words for each step because after the twenty minutes given, each group had to take turns describing how to make their food to other groups. Then, the others had to guess what food the presenting group is talking about.
I think this activity helps students practice all four speaking, listening, reading, and writing. In the first step of this activity, students have to look up information online and be able to identify which information is the most adequate. This requires some reading skills and also helps improve the skill of reading for information. After looking for information, students have to present the information they got from another source to other students. In this part, students who are presenting get to practice speaking, and those who are listening and trying to guess the food the presenters are describing are practicing listening. Finally, when it comes to writing, students dont practice it directly other than copying down information from the Internet, but the transition words and cooking/food vocabulary handed out by the instructor could become a help later on.
The most effective way to improve this activity is to bring food that is well-known to everyone. If the food is unknown, students cant guess what it is even though they understood everything the speaker said. For example, when we played, Buncha and Egg Benedict were the dishes that were most unfamiliar to students. The activity wouldve been better if the foods brought by the instructor were well-known but with many steps for cooking.
ShowandTell
The idea of show and tell was familiar to me because I used to do it in elementary school in the U.S. At the time, I thought it was just done for fun and was a way to get to know other students, but by doing it in class this time made me realize that maybe the teacher had intentions to make us practice speaking and listening. However, the method of the show and tell done in this class differed from that of a typical show and tell. Unlike a typical show and tell in which students bring something from home to share with students in class, the instructor prepared items to be described for our show and tell. The twist was the fact that the items she brought were kind of unusual and hard to figure out their usage. In this way, students were required to figure out or guess the item they were assigned and present what they think it is to the group.
I think this activity would be more effective and entertaining as well if students are told beforehand to prepare items to bring in themselves. After playing, I thought there was no point in bringing in unusual items because guessing usages doesnt help improve language skills nor requires any language skills. On the other hand, students bringing in their own items has relatively more benefits. First of all, student will already know the items they have: what it is called, usage, etc. This means that the time used to figure out what they items are will be saved and more time for presentation can be given to each student. Also, there were some students who couldnt figure out the usage, function, or name of the item until it was time to present. This made it hard for students to present and as a result, they couldnt practice speaking as much as those who knew the items they were given. If students bring in their own items from home, they will be more confident when speaking since they know it the best, which will lead to confidence when speaking in front of a group in general. In addition to that, students who are listening can get to practice listening with more meaningful output and take in more meaningful input.
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Anonymous
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RE: Teaching Listening and Speaking (Spring 2019) - Week 11 Reflections for Super
It is a pair work. A pair should write down recipes of two foods what they are given. When a pair writes two recipes, they have to use concrete words of flavors and textures in the list. Also, they have to use kitchen verbs on the print. They have to use transition words to clearly describe the process of recipe. A pair write down the recipes for 20 minutes. In last 10 minutes, there is a quiz time. A pair describe the recipes and the other pairs should answer the quiz. When a pair describe recipes to other team members, they shouldnt mention the name of foods. When the team members are confused to answer the quiz, a pair can give them hints of foods. A pair who answers the most quiz is winning.
There was a problem about grouping. Our pair did not have enough time to describe the food processes, while the other group had already completed the script and had time left. I tried to group the pairs that students with similar English skills, but I thought that I should group students who can complementarily communicate with each other.
Show And Tell
It was an activity to find out the name and purpose of the six unknown items our host brought with her. Each item was assigned randomly by numbering, and it was a pair work and two students are grouped together to find out the use and name of each other's objects. Based on the questions the host provided, we figured out about the things.
The items were rather easy to match, so not many conversations were exchanged. I think it's better to bring something that's harder to figure out.
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Anonymously
Date:
RE: Teaching Listening and Speaking (Spring 2019) - Week 11 Reflections for Super
The recipe activity was presented as a pair activity. Together two students discover two different dishes and will need to describe it in order to recreate the recipe. Once that done by writing in 20 minutes, they have to present the recipe to others whom, by listening the recipe, should recognize and name the dish. The students were allowed to look up the recipe on the internet.
The activity is interesting for many reasons. It makes the students practise the ability of making steps and organize their speech with expressions like first, then, finally. They also have to explain and describe. The activity is making the students practise their understanding of a recipe. The host offered to the students an ensemble of words of vocabulary about taste and verbs about cooking. I am not sure of the real-world purpose of the activity since it is designed for a low intermediate level and in real-life they would probably not encounter making a recipe in English because of Internet being so useful they would not need to have an English recipe and found the translated recipe on the web.
I think that activity was not presented very clearly to see how it can be used in a class and in what purposes. I dont think the pair work was necessary because it didnt change anything in my group and also by using internet the students didnt really had to create sentences but more copy some from the internet. The fact they have to write make sense because the host cant ask for them to remember an entire recipe, but at the same time that reduces the actual speaking because they helped themselves by the writing. So sometimes, it could be some reading instead of speaking. I think in a real class it would be interesting to ask the students to pick their favourite recipe, their soul food, so the students could have a moment to share their personal memory related to that dish.
Show and Tell:
The activity is interesting because out of item who should be peculiar the students are expected to make guesses. The activity is designed in two parts. During the first part, each student is assigned an object that, with the help of its partner, they have to find out the name of, the purpose of it and how to use it. This first part is very fun because if the students are encouraged to have imagination the description can be very humoristic, which I think should be the purpose of the activity. I regretted it was not the case in our group, everyone was really focused to find the real utility of the object they had.
The activity is definitely not related to real-world purpose but more on developing some descriptions ability. I think it is designed for high beginner or low intermediate level: they must use simple sentences and express opinions like I think it is used like. I could imagine a class around that activity focused on the imagination. The activity requires some basic knowledges from the students like vocabulary of object in the house or like it.
I think for next time I would use more objects and also try to make the students hide them from the other students so the other students would have to make a guess on what the object is and, only then, reveal the object.
