The purpose of the chat show, TV show lesson
is to get students to start using informal, sometimes formal debating language;
how students can learn to express disagreement with something, agreement, interrupt politely
and all of these functions, so that they can take part in a debate.
I'm sending the students to watch a video. The video is of a chat show from the UK, using natural language.
The reason I'm doing this is to involve students in the topic and also to get them thinking about the topic
and listening to authentic materials in English at natural speed.
The students now are finishing watching the video, they've answered the questions
and now they're checking with their partner to see if they have the same answers.
This is actually very important. This gives students confidence in the answers that they're going to give in front of the class, at the end of this session.
It also means that they're on the same page and their helping each other to complete these answers.
In the meantime, I'm walking around, checking their progress. I'll check for understanding and monitor their progress in general
I think they said ten years?
OK, so for question 1, what do you think?
She cheated on him?
Yes. What was the preposition after cheating?
Cheating...on?
On, yes.
7 times...good!
Number 2, he believes they're having a...?
Full blown affair
Full blown...do you think this is therefore something quite small or something quite big and happening completely?
Big
Exactly, it's totally happening, 100%
So what I'd like you to do now is open your books to page 48 and you will find these questions here,
these speaking questions. So with your partner,I'd like you talk about these questions about chat shows.
This is to personalise the topic, it's to get them more involved in the topic.
This a great way to get them more involved in the topic, a way for them to get to know each other,
it's a great way for them to talk about what happens in their countries and their nationalities, the cultural differences
and bring that to the classroom, so we can use this in a positive way.
What kind of format do they have in your country?
The kind of format with just interviewing famous or interesting people, they do curious jobs and innovating things.
If we would watch a chat show,we would watch a German one
there are some where they try to fix family problems, or when people are in a court and they try to find out if the person is guilty or not.
What kind of TV chat shows exist in your countries?
In Korea, if they just chat or ask and answer, Koreans will feel it's very boring, so in my country it usually includes entertainment, games and complete action.
I'm now also asking students the good things and the bad things to do with chat shows.
We're doing this so that again we're using students' opinions as well to personalise this topic.
We're also doing this because we're going to use a lot of the arguments that they come up with now later on in the lesson
when we practice our live debate.
Well one of the things is that you can find a good story or a funny story
It's entertaining
Definitely
They need to speak about their own problems, but I don't think that in front of the camera on TV is a good thing
OK, so we have a benefit and a drawback here.
People can talk about their problems...
...but again the disadvantage is that; who knows? Everyone knows.
Now I'm asking the students to put certain phrases used for disagreeing, interrupting politely,
introducing opinions, introducing other people's opinions into correct sub-headings.
This is so that students know the function of these different phrases and when to use them correctly.
This is also so that later on in the lesson again when they do the live debate,
students can revert straight to these phrases on the board and we can use these in real time.
No!
I don't think so
So help him out
I wouldn't say that.
I'm splitting up the students into two different teams.
We're going to look at the topic of same sex schools or mixed sex schools.
One team on the right are going to argue for or against this and the other team on the left are going to argue for or against this,
and the idea is that they use this language on the board between giving their arguments
so they can introduce their arguments and disagree with the oppositions arguments in real time.
Students are now discussing together about which arguments they can come up with and deliver
Actually in my country it's very common to separate girls and boys in high school.
Some of my girlfriends are very afraid of men.
Men and women, they are always together in the friendship, generally boys are always with boys and girls are always with girls.
So you want to say that even in the friendship, you are more relaxed?
Yeah, they are already together
So it's easier to have guy friends for you?
Students are introducing their arguments using the language that we learnt before
they're then disagreeing as well with counter arguments,
so all in all this is successful, because we're using language, that they were taught previously in the lesson
in the exact context that it should be used and this is a really good lesson.
The way we see it, it's about focus, because other people can be distracted about relationships in schools for example.
I disagree sincerely, since at a young age, it's vital to communicate with the other sex
to know how to... (thank you Sam), deal with women, men, and it's vital because eventually you'll need those skills.
Girls are more confident with girls and guys are more confident with guys,
so if they are in the same class together, it's easier to express what we are thinking about the topics in school and stuff like that,
so some people can be shy in front of others, so maybe it's easier for them to be with girls and girls and guys and guys?
That's not always the case, actually it's common to separate high school students by sexes in my country,
but also my girlfriends who studied separately at a young age are afraid of meeting men even when they grow up,
so they chose to go to university and I think it can become a problem in my country.
With this lesson,we moved methodically through a set structure:
In the beginning we introduced the topic to the lesson,
we gave students a bit of confidence as well talking about this topic personalising this topic,
After this, we've fed in the functional language, checked that they understood the meaning and the use and some of the form as well,
and after this students practised this language in a real debate setting and environment.