Less controlled practice (module 4)

Practice Activities

Index

Mixed drill

Controlled vs. Less controlled practice

Less controlled practice

Practice demo

Demo Breakdown

Personalized questions

Questions From students (QFS)

Controlled practice (review)

Vertical Drill

Elimination

Controlled vs. Less controlled practice

Helps students’ short-term memorization of new language and patterns. The student hears and uses the language multiple times in full sentences and in various contexts.

Controlled practice

Helps students experiment and make choices with new language. These activities provide opportunities for students to play with the language and to test their hypotheses about how structures or expressions work.

Less-Controlled practice

Practice Demo

Remember that, for purposes of illustration, the statements for the demo will be written. However, in an actual class, this is not encouraged.

Practice time.

Practice time.

It takes about 45 minutes to get to the airport

The teacher bought a round trip ticket to New York

The bus fare is 20 dollars

Demo breakdown

Controlled practice

This mechanical and systematic phase allows students to internalize structure, pronunciation and vocabulary from a functional perspective. The incorporation of patterns and repetitions are fundamental before making practical choices with the language.

+ info

Less-controlled practice.

This phase allows students to make a subtle transition from functional practice into meaningful one. Students use the structures they have been presented with and make some adjustments so that they can relate to the contents on a more personal level.

+ info

Controlled practice

Review

Controlled Practice

The Vertical Drill

I: Is the bus fare 20 dollars?

YES

S: Yes, it is

NO

I: Is the bus fare 30 dollars?

S: No, it isn’t

I: How much is the fare

KEY

S: The bus fare is 20 dollars

I: Is the bus fare 20 or 30 dollars?

OR

S: The bus fare is 20 dollars

The Vertical Drill

I: Does it take about 45 minutes to get to the airport?

YES

S: Yes, it does

I: Does it take about 15 minutes to get to the airport?

NO

S: No, it idoesn’t

I: How long does it take to get to the airport?

S: It takes about 45 minutes to get to the airport

KEY

I: Does it take about 15 or 45 minutes to get to the airport?

S: It takes about 45 minutes to get to the airport

OR

The Vertical Drill

I: Did the teacher buy a round-trip ticket to New York?

YES

S: Yes, he did

I: Did the teacher buy a one-way ticket to New York?

NO

S: No, he didn't

I: What kind of ticket did the teacher buy?

S: The teacher bought a round-trip ticket to New York

KEY

I: Did the teacher buy a round-trip or one-way ticket to New York?

S: The teacher bought a round-trip ticket to New York

OR

Controlled Practice

The Mixed Drill

I: What kind of ticket did the teacher buy?

I: Does it take about 15 or 45 minutes to get to the airport?

* Ask key and Or questions in no predictable order to all your students.

I: How much is the fare?

I: Did the teacher buy a round-trip or one-way ticket to New York?

Less-Controlled practice

Less-controlled Practice

Personalized Questions

I: What kind of ticket did YOU buy the last time you traveled abroad?

I: Does it take YOU about 15 or 45 minutes to get to the airport?

I: How much is the bus fare in YOUR CITY?

I: Did YOUR BROTHER buy a round-trip or one-way ticket for his last vacation?

Ask individual Personalized questions about ALL the new language items like a short conversation.

Tips for Personalizing Questions

Regulate the challenge (by asking easier questions to students that are struggling and more complex ones to the others). Tailor questions and activities to students’ situations / interests.

Questions From students (QFS)

QFS activities allow the student to use the interrogative form, an essential part of daily conversation. QFS may be elicited by one or more of the following techniques:

Direct speech

Indirect Question

QAAQ

AQ

Tease Answers

General Instruction

Question-Answer-Answer-Question

This technique is great for beginner students as it keeps the instructor from explaining what they need to do. Students are presented with a question they need to answer and a verbal prompt to come up with an answer instead.

T: How old are you? S: I'm 45 years old. T: I'm 51 years old. (cue*) S: How old are you?

The cue may be a gesture, first word of the question, or the instruction, “Question?”

T: Where is your mother from? S: My mother is from Italy. T: My mother is from Russia. (cue*) S: Where is your mother from?

Answer-Question

This technique, similar to QAAQ, follows the same pattern in which a student comes up with a question based on an answer provided by the instructor. It is a great technique for students that do not require modeling and that are already familiar with QAAQ.

T: Yes, I like bananas. (cue*) S: Do you like bananas?

T: No, Paris is not in England. (cue*) S: Is Paris in England?

The cue may be a gesture, first word of the question, or the instruction, “Question?”

T: French is spoken in France. (cue*) S: What language is spoken in France?

T: Her eyes are blue. (cue*) S: What color are her eyes?

Answer-Question

By varying the stress, the AQ technique can be used to elicit different questions from the same sentence/answer

T: The teacher bought a ROUND-TRIP TICKET to New York. S: What kind of ticket did the teacher buy?

T: THE TEACHER bought a round-trip ticket to New York. S: Who bought a round-trip ticket to New York?

T: the teacher bought a round-trip ticket TO NEW YORK. S: Where did the teacher buy a round-trip ticket to?

T: the teacher BOUGHT a round-trip ticket to New York. S: What did the teacher do?

Tease answers

This technique is more realistic than the other AQ-based techniques. It's ideal for levels above level 1.

T: I went to Cartagena but didn't stay at a hotel. (then...?) S: Where did you stay?

T: I didn't have eggs for breakfast. (then...?) S: What did you have for breakfast?

T: Mr. Bennet won't pick up his boss. S: Who will he pick up?

Indirect Questions

This technique is great for encouraging students to ask each other questions.

T: Ask me where I will live in 4 years. S: Where will you live in 4 years?. T: Ask Pablo where he will live in 4 years. S: Pablo, where will you live in 4 years?

T: Ask Maria how often she goes on vacation. S: Maria, how often do you go on vacation?

T: Ask Karen what the last movie her husband watched was. S: Karen, what was the last movie your husband watched?

Direct Speech

With this technique you create a communicative need by asking a student if he/she knows something about his/her classmates.

T: Do you know if Carlos speaks more than 2 languages? S: No, I don't. T: Ask him. S: Carlos, do you speak more than 2 languages?

T: Do you know if Maria has any siblings? S: No, I don't. T: Ask her. S: Maria, do you have any siblings?

General instruction.

This technique requires a general command from the instructor so that students can come up with a question using a given item.

T: Ask me a question with How Often. (for private students) S: How often do you go to the mall?

T: Ask Max a question with Why. S: Max, Why do you want to learn English?

T: Ask Marion a question with How Much. S: Marion, how much money do you have in your pocket?

You don't have to use ALL the QFS activities for your less-controlled practice. Just select one or more that you consider suitable for the topic and vocabulary your students need to practice.

Remember

Linking words

Elimination

Only affirmative statements can be presented during the regular presentation phase. How can we present new Key questions?

Structure

Elimination

I: Ask a Y question. I: Ask a N question. I: Ask a N question. I: Ask a N question. I: Ask a K question. I: Ask an O question.

During the vertical drill, the instructor asks 3 No questions instead of one, and then introduces the new Key question.

Example

I: Does she have 2 friends? I: Does she have 5 friends? I: Does she have 10 friends? I: Does she have 1 friend? I: Ok, so How many friends does she have? I: Does she have 5 or 2 friends?

This technique should only be used whenever students are not familiar with some key questions (What, how much, how often, etc.). If students are familiar with the key question, then apply the regular vertical drill (YNKO)

Remember

Linking words

How much When What time Whose What for How often Who Where to To what extent Which Whom

Let's practice

Please pay close attention to the trainer's examples. Then, select one word and use the aforementioned structure to present it. .

Recap

Mixed drill

Controlled vs. Less controlled practice

Less controlled practice

Practice demo

Demo Breakdown

Personalized questions

Questions From students (QFS)

Controlled practice (review)

Vertical Drill

Elimination